











































3 


letin No. 309 



« - AO f A, Economic Geology, 91 
senes | ^ Descriptive Geology, 112 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Director 


THE 

NT A CLARA VALLEY, PUENTE HILLS 
AND LOS ANGELES OIL DISTRICTS 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 

Vv' by 

GEORGE HOMANS ELDRIDGE 

AND 


RALPH ARNOLD 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 


1907 









Bulletin No. 309 


Sphps J A ' Economic Oology, 91 
es \ B, Descriptive Geology, 112 


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

l 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Director 


THE 



SANTA CLARA VALLEY, PUENTE HILLS 
AND LOS ANGELES OIL DISTRICTS 


SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 


BY 

GEORGE HOMANS ELDRIDGE 

if 

AND 

RALPH ARNOLD 



> ) 

) i ^ 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

19 0 7 






APR 8 1908 

D.otO. 


>■' 





CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Preface. X] 

The Santa Clara Valley Oil District, Southern California, by 


George H. Eldridge. 

Introduction. 1 

Acknowledgments. 1 

Topography. 1 

Geologic formations. 4 

General statement.. 4 

Granitic basement. 5 

General character and distribution. 5 

Topatopa formation. 5 

General character. 5 

Distribution. 7 

Age. 7 

Occurrence of oil. 7 

Sespe formation. 7 

General character. 7 

Lower zone. 8 

Red beds. 8 

General description. 8 

In the Ojai Valley. 9 

South of the Santa Clara... 10 

Oil in the red beds. 10 

Upper zone. 10 

Relation of upper Sespe beds to Vaqueros shale. 11 

Oil in the upper Sespe beds. 12 

Vaqueros formation. 12 

Age and general character... 12 

In the Ojai Valley. 13 

South of the Santa Clara. 15 

Modelo formation. 17 

General character. 17 

Lower sandstone. 18 

Upper sandstone. 18 

Shale in the Modelo. 19 

Variation in composition of the Modelo. 19 

Supposed Modelo beds in the Ojai Valley and Sulphur Mountain. 20 

Correlation of the upper shaly portion of the Modelo with the Monterey 

shale. 20 

Difficulties of correlation between north and south sides of Santa Clara 

Valley. 21 

Burning of the shale. 22 


in 









































IV 


CONTENTS. 


Geologic formations—Continued. Page. 

Fernando formation. 22 

General character and age. 22 

Paleontology of the Fernando formation. 23 

Lower Fernando fauna. 24 

Middle Fernando fauna. 25 

Upper Fernando fauna. 25 

Pleistocene deposits. 28 

In the vicinity of Saugus. 28 

At mouth of Sespe Canyon. 28 

Conglomerate of Lion Canyon. 28 

General structure of district. 29 

Introductory statement.'. 29 

Santa Clara Valley. 29 

Region north of the Santa Clara.•.,. 30 

Region south of the Santa Clara. 35 

Oil fields north of the Santa Clara. 3G 

Ojai Valley fields. 36 

Location. 36 

Structure. 36 

Oil wells. 39 

Pirie ranch wells. 39 

Lion Canyon wells. 40 

Langdell, Newmark & Roan wells. 40 

Wliidden-Double wells. 40 

Sobra Vista wells. 41 

Santa Paula wells. 42 

Southern Sulphur Mountain field. 42 

Location. 42 

Geology. 42 

Structure. 44 

Oil wells. 45 

Silver Thread or Sisar Creek field... 46 

Location. 46 

Structure. 1 . 46 

Oil wells. 48 

Field south of Santa Paula Ridge. 49 

Location. 49 

Geology and structure. 49 

Oil wells. 50 

Sespe fields.<.. 51 

Location. 51 

Structure. 51 

Oil wells. 54 

Union Consolidated wells. 54 

Region of Devilsgate. 54 

I vers wells. 55 

Kentuck wells. 50 

Happy Thought wells. 53 

Foot-of-the-Hill or Los Angeles wells. 53 

Fourfork wells. 00 

Tar Creek wells. 01 





















































CONTENTS. 


V 


Oil fields north of the Santa Clara—Continued. 

Pole Canyon. 

Location. 

Geology and structure. 

Hopper-Piru fields. 

Location. 

Structure. 

West of Pirn Creek. 

East of Piru Creek. 

Oil wells.:. 

San Cayetano wells. 

Sunset wells. 

Fortuna wells. 

Nigger Canyon wells. 

Modelo Canyon wells. 

Wells of the Piru Oil and Land Company 

Wells of Holser Canyon. 

Oil fields south of the Santa Clara. 

General statement. 

Bardsdale field. 

Location. 

Geology and structure. 

Oil wells. 

Union and Bardsdale crude wells. 

Torrev-Eureka-Tapo fields. 

Location. 

Geology and structure. 

Oil wells. 

Torrey wells. 

Eureka wells. 

Tapo wells. 

Pico fields. 

Location. 

Geology and structure. 

Productive fields of the Pico district. 

Oil wells. 

Pico Canyon wells. 

Dewitt Canyon wells. 

Towsley Canyon wells. 

Wiley Canyon wells. 

Rice Canyon wells. 

East Canyon wells. 

Elsmere field. 

Location. 

Geology and structure. 

Oil wells. 

Enterprise, Pearl, and Zenith wells. 

Elsmere Ridge wells. 

Elsmere Canyon wells... 

Nettleton & Ivellerman wells. 

Well south of ridge crest. 

Placerita Canyon wells. 


Page. 

62 

62 

62 

64 

64 

64 

64 

67 

68 
68 
69 
69 
71 
71 

74 

75 

76 
76 
76 
76 
76 
79 

79 

80 
80 
80 
86 
87 
87 

89 

90 
90 
90 

93 

94 

94 

95 

95 

96 
96 
96 
96 

96 

97 

98 

98 

99 
99 
99 
99 

100 





















































VI 


CONTENTS. 


The Puente Hills Oil District, Southern California, by George 

H. Eldridge. Page. 

Introduction. 102 

A ckno wledgments. 102 

Location and topography...■-. 102 

Geology. 103 

Formations. 103 

Lower Puente shale. 103 

Puente sandstone. 104 

Upper Puente shale....:. 104 

Correlation of the Puente formation with the Monterey. 105 

Post-Puente diabase. 106 

Fernando formation. 106 

Pleistocene. 107 

Structure. 108 

General structural relations of the fields.:. 108 

Coyote Hills anticline. 109 

Geologic relations of oil-bearing strata. 109 

Oilfields.. 110 

- Whittier field. 110 

Location. 110 

Geology. 110 

Structure. 112 

Oil wells. 113 

La Habra. Canyon field. 115 

Location. 115 

Geology. 115 

Structure. 116 

Oil wells. 117 

Puente field.i. 117 

Location. 117 

Geology. 117 

Structure. 118 

Oil wells. 119 

Brea Canyon field. 120 

Location. 120 

Geology. 120 

Structure. 121 

Oil wells. 123 

Olinda field.,.. 125 

Location. 125 

Geology. 125 

Structure. 126 

Oil wells. 131 

Chino field. 132 

Conclusions concerning future development. 132 

Petroleum of the Puente Hills district.•. 133 

Yield and gravity of oil in different fields. 133 

Factors in yield of wells. 133 

Associated hydrocarbons. 134 

Storage and transportation.,.... 134 

Utilization of the oil. 135 

Production. 136 

Prices. 136 

Oil companies in Puente Hills district. 137 























































CONTENTS. 


VII 


The Los Angeles Oil District, Southern California, by Ralph 

Arnold. 

Introduction.. 

Acknowledgments.. 

Previous knowledge of the region..•_. 

Location and topography. 

Geologic formations. 

General statement. 

Black schist. 

Granite.. 

Puente sandstone. 

General character... 

Fossils. 

Upper Puente shale. 

General character.. 

Oil sands. 

Miocene basalt. 

Fernando formation. 

General character. 

Fossils. 

Pleistocene. 

General character. 

Brea deposits. 

Structure. 

General features. 

Structure of the oil belt.'_ 

Joint cracks. 

Oil fields. 

Location. 

Development. 

Eastern field. 

Location. 

Topography. 

Geology.r. 

Geology of the wells... 

Structure. 

Development. 

Central field. 

Location. 

Topography. 

Geology. 

Geology of the wells. 

Structure.. 

Development.. 

Western field. 

Location. 

Topography. 

Geology. 

Geology of the wells. 

Baptist College area.... 

Vicinity of Western avenue and Temple road. 

Area one-fourth mile northwest of Temple road and Western 

avenue. 

Area south of Colegrove. 

Structure. 


Page. 

138 

138 

138 

142 

143 

144 

145 
145 
145 

145 

146 
148 

148 

149 

150 
150 
150 

152 

153 

153 

154 

155 

155 

156 

157 

158 
158 
158 
160 
160 
160 
160 
162 

163 

164 

165 
165 
165 
165 
167 
170 
172 
172 
172 

172 

173 

174 

175 
178 

181 

182 

184 






















































VITI 


CONTENTS. 


Oil fields—Continued. Page. 

Salt Lake field. 186 

Location. 186 

Geology. 186 

General statement. 186 

Oil sands. 186 

Brea deposits. 187 

Geology of the wells. 187 

Area north and northwest of the lagoon. 187 

Area south and southeast of the lagoon. 191 

Structure. 193 

Development. 195 

Conclusions concerning future development. 196 

City fields. 196 

East of Los Angeles River. 196 

Southwest and west of Los Angeles. 197 

Production. 198 

Storage. 198 

Transportation. 198 

Bibliography of Southern California oils. 199 

Physical and Chemical Properties of Southern California Oils, 

COMPILED BY RALPH ARNOLD. 

Introduction. 203 

General character of the southern California oils..... 203 

Gravity..^. 203 

Color.'. 203 

Composition. 204 

Fuel and gas making. 204 

Products of refineries. 205 

Analyses. 205 

Fossils of the Oil-Bearing Formations of Southern California, 

. by Ralph Arnold. 

Introduction. 219 

Plates. 221 

Index. 259 
































ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 


Plate I. Geologic map of Santa Clara Valley and adjacent oil fields in Ven¬ 
tura and Los Angeles counties.:. Pocket. 

II. A, View across Hopper Canyon to valley of Piru River; B, The 

great Topatopa anticline, Sespe oil field. 2 

III. Geologic structure sections across Mount Pinos, Tejon, Santa Paula, 

and Camulos quadrangles. 28 

IV. Geologic structure sections across Camulos, Santa Susana, and Fer¬ 

nando quadrangles. 30 

V. Township and section map of the Santa Clara district, showing 

location of oil wells. 30 

VI. A, Flanks of Oak Ridge and the Santa Susana Mountains, show¬ 
ing post-Pliocene peneplain; B, The Upper Ojai Valley. 40 

VII. A, Santa Paula Canyon; B, Elsmere Hill and oil wells, near New- 

hall, Los Angeles County. 48 

VIII. A, Modelo wells, Modelo Canyon, Ventura County; B, Fortuna 

wells, Hopper Canyon, Ventura County. 70 

IX. A, Overturn in Vaqueros formation, west side of Pico Canyon, 

Los Angeles County; B, Pico anticline, Pico Canyon, Los 

Angeles County. 90 

X. Geologic map of the oil fields of Puente Hills. 102 

XI. Geologic sections across the oil fields of the Puente Hills district.. 108 

XII: Township and section*map of the Puente Hills oil district, showing 

location of oil wells. 110 

XIII. A, Wells along Central Oil Company—Murphy Oil Company prop¬ 

erty line, Whittier field, Los Angeles County; B, Productive 
well in vertical strata, Whittier field, Los Angeles County. 112 

V 

XIV. A, Brea Canyon field, Orange County; B, Characteristic pumping 

plant, Whittier field, Los Angeles County. 120 

XV / A and B, Panorama of the Olinda oil field. 124 

XVI. Detailed geologic section through Olinda oil field. 130 

XVII. 1 Chart showing variation in daily production of a group of oil wells in 

the Puente Hills district. 134 

XVIII. Geologic map of the region of the Los Angeles oil fields. 144 

XIX/ Street and section map of the Los Angeles oil fields, showing loca¬ 
tion of oil wells.'. 158 

XX. Geologic structure sections across Los Angeles oil fields, Los Angeles 

quadrangle. 162 

XXI/ A, Nodular Miocene sandstone at Los Angeles; B, Typical lower 

Miocene sandstone at Los Angeles. 166 

XXII. A, Eastern oil field, Los Angeles; B, Central oil field, Los Angeles. 168 
XX11 I/Salt Lake field, Los Angeles. 186 


* 


IX 
























X 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

XXIV. A, Characteristic tliin-bedded Pliocene sandstone, Los Angeles oil 
fields; B, Lagoon in the Salt Lake field, Los Angeles, showing 

floating oil and bubbling water caused by escaping gas.•.... 188 

XXV. Eocene Pelecypoda. 223 

XXVI. Eocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 225 

XXVII. Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 227 

XXVIII. Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 229 

XXIX. Miocene Echinoidea and Pelecypoda. 231 

XXX. Miocene Echinoidea, Pelecypoda, and Gasteropoda. 233 

XXXI. Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 235 

XXXII. Miocene Pelecypoda, Gasteropoda, and Crustacea. 237 

XXXIII. Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 239 

XXXIV. Pliocene pectens... 241 

XXXV. Pliocene pectens. 243 

XXXVI. Pliocene pectens. 245 

XXXVII. Pliocene areas. 247 

XXXVIII. Pliocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 249 

XXXIX. Pliocene Brachiopoda and Pelecypoda. 251 

XL. Pliocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 253 

XLI. Tertiary turritellas. 255 

Fig. 1. Index map of portion of southern California. 2 

2 . East-west section across Sespe Canyon above mouth of Tar Creek. 8 

3. North-south section, on north side of Lower Ojai Valley. 9 

4. Sketch map showing location of wells and oil seepages in the northeast 

corner of Upper Ojai Valley. 41 

5. Sketch map showing location of Ivers wells, with relation to anticlinical 

axis in the Sespe red beds. 55 

6 . Sketch map showing location of Kentuck group of wells in syncline 

in Sespe red beds. 57 

7. Sketch map of Foot-of-the-Hills oil wells. 59 

8 . Sketch map showing location of the Fourfork group of wells, with rela¬ 

tion to the base of the upper purple beds... GO 

9. Sketch map showing location of the Fortuna wells, with relation to the 

anticlinal axis. > . 70 

10. Section through Fryers Peak east of Fryer’s ranch. 92 

11 . Sketch map showing location of Placerita Canyon wells, 5 miles east 

of Newhall. 100 

12 . Generalized geologic section for the immediate vicinity of the Los 

Angeles oil fields. 144 

13. North-south section across the central field. 171 

14. North-south section along Hoover street, Los Angeles. 175 

15. Detail of section along line C-D, western oil field. 178 

1 G. Detail of section along line A-B, western oil field. 181 

17. Northwest-southeast sections in Salt Lake field. 189 





































PREFACE. 


Soon after Mr. Eldridge’s lamented death, June 29, 1905, an exam¬ 
ination was made of his unfinished reports on the oil fields of Cali¬ 
fornia to determine in what shape he left them. His field work had 
covered a period of approximately one year, from about July 1, 1901, 
to July 1, 1902. During this time he had examined all the principal 
oil districts from San Mateo County southward to the Santa Ana 
Mountains. He had planned to describe the oil fields of this entire 
area in one large monograph, and at the time of his death had prac¬ 
tically completed the manuscript and accompanying geologic maps for 
the chapters on the Parkfield (Monterey County), Santa Clara Valley 
(Ventura and Los Angeles counties), and Puente Hills (Los Angeles 
and Orange counties) districts. Poor health for some time previous 
to his death precluded his doing more than this, and although there 
were copious notes relating to all the other districts none of these 
had been written up. The sad duty of preparing the nearly com¬ 
pleted manuscript for publication and of utilizing the remaining 
notes for other reports was assigned to the writer. 

In order to facilitate the publication of the chapters nearest com¬ 
pletion it was deemed expedient to issue them one or more at a 
time as bulletins, instead of in a single monograph, as originally con¬ 
templated by Mr. Eldridge. This change in the method of publica¬ 
tion necessitated some changes in the arrangement of the text and 
the treatment of the subject. In making these alterations, however, 
it has been the writer’s sincere effort to modify as little as possible 
Mr. Eldridge’s style of writing and manner of presentation. 

The text and geologic maps of the Santa Clara Valley and Puente 
Hills reports are entirely the work of Mr. Eldridge, with the excep¬ 
tion of some changes in the arrangement and some minor additions 
bringing them up to date. The choice and preparation of the illus¬ 
trations and the preparation of the cross sections fell to the lot of 
the writer. The forbearance of the reader is besought for any 
inconsistencies or deficiencies in this bulletin, as they are doubtless 
largely due to the writer’s inability to interpret and transcribe the 
ideas which Mr. Eldridge recorded in his notes. 

Ralph Arnold. 


June 30, 1900. 


XI 
















. 









































THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY OIL DISTRICT. 
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


By George Homans Eldridge. 


INTRODUCTION. 

This paper presents a brief description of the oil fields of the region 
adjacent to the Santa Clara Valley, in Ventura and Los Angeles 
counties, Cal. Owing to the somewhat limited time available for the 
field work it has been impossible to go into as much detail concern¬ 
ing certain of the fields as might be desirable. However, it is hoped 
that the data here brought together will be of assistance in the 
future development of the district. Figures of the characteristic or 
common fossils of the different formations of the district are given 
in Pis. XXV to XLI. The physical and chemical properties of the 
oil are treated on pages 203-218. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

The writer wishes to extend his sincere thanks and acknowledg¬ 
ments to the officers and operators of the different oil companies in 
the district for their hearty cooperation and support. Without the 
data furnished by them the preparation of such a report as this 
would have been impossible. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The Santa Clara Valley of southern California is a structural 
depression modified by erosion. The heads of the valley lie in the 
San Gabriel Range and in the mountains to the north, which con¬ 
nect this range with other portions of the Coast Range and with 
the Sierras. After a westerly course of 75 miles the stream which 
drains the valley enters the Pacific a little south of the town of 
Ventura. The valley proper is given over to agriculture, but in 
the mountains on either side are many important oil fields. 

The mountains north of the valley form the watershed between 
it and the Central Valley of California and also present a barrier to 
the Mohave Desert, which lies in the angle between the Sierras 
and the more southerly ranges of the State. These mountains are 


l 




9 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


excessively rugged and represent the convergence of several ranges, 
which to the northwest maintain a conspicuous individuality. Pine 
Mountain, which is 7,488 feet in altitude, is their culminating point. 
The area thus occupied forms a part of the Santa Barbara Forest 
Reserve, recently set aside by the United States Government. The 
greater portion of it is accessible only by trail and is almost wholly 
uninhabited. 



Fig. 1 . Index map of a portion of southern California, showing the location of the three districts 
described in this bulletin and of the other important producing districts of the State. 


The San Gabriel Range, in which rise the southerly heads of Santa 
Clara River, equals in ruggedness and general altitude the moun¬ 
tains to the north. This range, with its western extension, the 
Santa Susana Mountains, separates the Santa Clara Valley from 
those of Los Angeles, Tujunga, and San Gabriel rivers, while still 
farther west Oak Ridge and South Mountain, in extension of the 


























































































U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. II 


A. PANORAMA ACROSS HOPPER CANYON TO VALLEY OF PIRU RIVER. 


From Hopper Peak Ventura County. 



B. THE GREAT TOPATOPA ANTICLINE, SESPE OIL FIELD. 
From hill above Los Angeles wells, Ventura County. 

















SANTA CLARA VALLEY : TOPOGRAPHY. 3 

Santa Susana Mountains, lie between this valley and the minor 
depression of the Simi. The San Gabriel Range attains its maxi¬ 
mum altitude at 10,080 feet in San Antonio Peak, in the eastern 
portion of the uplift. The highest peak in the Santa Susana Moun¬ 
tains reaches 3,756 feet. Oak Ridge and South Mountain rise to 
maximum elevations of 3,000 and 2,258 feet, respectively. 

The Santa Clara receives its principal streams from the north. 
Named from east to west, these are: Castac, Piru, Sespe, and Santa 
Paula creeks. The courses of these streams are most tortuous, their 
loci having been determined in part by structure, in part by erosion. 
Their canyons are deep, sharply cut, and in many places cliff bound 
and inaccessible. In addition, there is a well-distributed and dense 
growth of chaparral. Sespe and Santa Paula creeks carry compara¬ 
tively* large amounts of water throughout their length. Piru Creek 
is a somewhat smaller stream, but is sufficient for the irrigation of 
the fertile lands which border its lower course to a width of a mile 
or more on either side. The Castac Valley is practically dry. 

The Ojai Valley, an intermontane depression which evidently had 
its origin in a system of profound faults, but whose aspect has since 
been modified by erosion of the strata over the area of excessive dis¬ 
turbance, lies some distance north of the lower part of the Santa Clara 
Valley, yet from a geologic standpoint it is a part of the general area 
here considered. The trend of the valley is east and west; its length 
is about 12 miles, and its width from 2 to 3 miles. The drainage 
is now chiefly to the west, San Antonio Creek flowing through it 
and joining Ventura River, a stream of considerable size, which 
flows thence 10 miles to the south, entering the Pacific at the town of 
Ventura, not far from the mouth of the Santa Clara. At the eastern 
edge of Ojai Valley, however, a minimum of the drainage passes into 
Sisar Creek, which discharges into Santa Paula Creek. Midway of its 
length a low ridge divides the depression into two parts, known as the 
upper and lower valleys. The altitude of the upper valley ranges 
from 1,250 feet at its western extremity to 1,500 feet at its eastern; 
that of the lower valley from 750 to 1,000 feet. Ojai Valley is well 
watered from natural streams and wells. A few miles up Matilija 
Creek are noted hot springs that are reported to have remarkable 
healing powers. 

North of Ojai Valley is the Topatopa Range, 7,000 feet in altitude; 
on the south is Sulphur Mountain, 2,750 feet. The mountainous 
country north of the valley can be reached only by trails, and although 
the distance across it to the San Joaquin Valley is but 36 miles, the 
region is one of the least accessible in the United States. Sulphur 
Mountain presents a steep northern face little indented with canyons; 
its southern slope, however, has been severely scarred by erosion, but 
is traversed by canyon roads. (See PI. II.) 


4 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The centers of settlement in the Santa Clara Valley include Ven¬ 
tura, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru, Newhall, Camulos, and Saugus, 
their relative importance being in the order named. 

The oil fields north of the Santa Clara Valley are developed on the 
open slopes in front of Mount San Cayetano and in the tributary can¬ 
yons to a distance into the range of 5 to 10 miles. These fields 
include in succession from east to west, Piru, Modelo, Nigger, Hop¬ 
per, Tar, Little and Big Sespe canyons, and the San Cayetano, Silver 
Thread, and Ojai fields. They follow in their development the line of 
the higher mountains. From Santa Paula Canyon westward, how¬ 
ever, there is a line of wells in Adams, Salt Marsh, Wheeler, and Aliso 
canyons, along the south side of Sulphur Mountain, in strata younger 
than those carrying most of the wells in the fields just referred to. 
Prospecting is carried on west of Aliso Canyon, even as far as the 
valley of Ventura River, but no productive territory has yet been 
found in that area. 

The productive wells south of the Santa Clara Valley are confined 
to the northern slopes of the Santa Susana Mountains and Oak Ridge, 
with the exception of a single well in the canyon of Placerita Creek, a 
stream which drains a portion of the northwestern slope of the San 
Gabriel Range. The field in which this well lies is the easternmost 
of those developed. Next westward is the Elsmere field, a mile or two 
southeast of Newhall; to the southwest of Newhall, in canyons de¬ 
scending from the Santa Susana Mountains, are, successively, the 
Rice, Wiley, Towsley, Dewitt, and Pico fields, the last noted in the 
past, as well as at present, for the lightness of its oil and the magni¬ 
tude of its production. Along the northern face of Oak Ridge, 5 or 
6 miles west of the Pico field, are those lying in Tapo, Eureka, and 
Torrey canyons; Wiley, Garberson, Shields, Grimes, and other can¬ 
yons have also been prospected, but without much success, except 
in the case of Grimes Canyon, west of which no developments have 
thus far taken place. 

The railway connection for these oil fields is the Coast division of 
the Southern Pacific, which unites with the San Joaquin Valley 
division at Saugus and passes thence southward to Los Angeles, dis¬ 
tant 33 miles. 

GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS.a 
GENERAL STATEMENT. 

The formations of the Santa Clara Valley include certain Pleisto¬ 
cene beds of which the precise horizon is not determined; a great 
series of conglomerates, sandstones, and arenaceous clays which were 
designated by Hamlin some years since as the Fernando formation 

a See p. 143 for table of tentative correlations between the oil-bearing formations of southern Cali¬ 
fornia. 





SANTA CLARA VALLEY : TOPATOPA FORMATION. 5 

and which probably represent all of the Pliocene and overlap into 
both the Miocene and the Pleistocene; the Modelo formation, of sand¬ 
stones and shales, which may prove to be the homologue of the 
Monterey; the Vaqueros formation, of shales, interbedded limestones, 
and sandstones; the Sespe formation, in the main a great body of 
brownish-red sandstones and conglomerates; the Topatopa forma¬ 
tion, of quartzites, sandstones, and hard, more or less siliceous, and 
earthy shales; and an older basement of gneisses and granites, prob¬ 
ably of Jurassic age. This series of formations appears to be con¬ 
formable from the base of the Topatopa as far up as the base of the 
Fernando, where a distinct chronologic break is observable. The 
later Pleistocene, also, is unconformable with the beds below, resting 
here upon one formation, there upon another. 

GRANITIC BASEMENT. 

GENERAL CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION. 

The oldest rocks in the territory under discussion are the gneisses 
and granites which underlie the Tertiary sediments east of Newhall. 
The gneisses are close grained, micaceous, conspicuously banded, and 
greatly contorted. In the region mentioned they strike approximately 
N. 70° W. and dip 50°-80° N. The underlying granitic rocks are mostly 
medium to fine-grained diorites, similar to those lying farther east 
which make up a large part of the San Gabriel Range. These and the 
other crystalline rocks found in the San Gabriels have been described 
by Arnold and Strong.® The granitic rocks are probably contempora¬ 
neous with those of the Sierra Nevada, which are of late Jurassic age. 
The most remarkable thing in connection with the gneisses east of 
Newhall is the occurrence in them of a very light oil, approaching a 
naphtha. Alternative hypotheses regarding the origin of this oil are 
given in the discussion of the geology of the Elsmere field (pp. 100-101). 

TOPATOPA FORMATION. 

GENERAL CHARACTER. 

The Topatopa formation receives its designation from the name of 
the range of which it is the chief constituent. It is the lowest forma¬ 
tion outcropping in the mountains north of the Santa Clara Valley. 
Its total thickness is unknown, but about 5,500 feet are exposed. 
This consists of excessively hard, submassive sandstones and quartz¬ 
ites, the latter of a greenish-gray color, clear or mottled with white, 
and shales, which differ from the quartzites in carrying an additional 
content of mica, in the fineness of their material, and consequently in 

a Arnold, Ralph, and Strong, A.M., Some crystalline rocks of the San Gabriel Mountains, California: 
Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 16, 1905, pp. 183-204. 


Bull. 309-07-2 



6 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


their structure. The shales are of a slightly bluish hue, but discolor 
a rusty brown from the presence of iron or petroleum, or both. The 
mottlings of the quartzites, which are very characteristic, are usually 
about one-fourth inch in diameter, round or irregular in outline, and 
in many instances are as conspicuous as the greener, more homogene¬ 
ous portion of the rock. The sandstones of the formation are usually 
light gray to white, and are only a little less hard and close textured 
than the quartzites. They carry numbers of Ostrea, the shells of 
which are usually black and 4 or 5 inches long by 3 or 4 inches across. 
It is difficult to obtain good specimens of these fossils, and their deter¬ 
minative value remains for the present unknown. 

The quartzites and sandstones greatly predominate in the lower 
2,000 feet of the formation as exposed, and the shales in the upper 
portion, but both types of rock intermingle to a considerable degree, 
imparting thus to the series as a whole a marked uniformity of appear¬ 
ance, which, with the persistency of its principal characteristics, is of 
especial value in identification. The formation contains toward the 
middle quartzites similar to those lower down. 

The conspicuous features of this formation are a tendency to a broad 
concretionary structure in some of its members; the presence of 
smaller brown ferruginous sand concretions; the sparse distribution 
of fossil oysters and other very imperfect molluscan remains through 
a great portion of its thickness, more particularly in the shales; 
some evidences of woody tissue, and a frequent recurrence of what 
appear to be fucoids. 

The upper part of the Topatopa formation on the lower slopes of 
the mountains on the north of the Ojai Valley consists of a succes¬ 
sion of very ferruginous rusty-brown and gray sandstone and sandy 
shale, perhaps 2,500 feet thick in all. This facies of the Topatopa 
extends eastward as far as the Silver Thread field, adjoining the 
Ojai Valley on the east. The dip of the rusty beds at the mouth of 
Senor Canyon is southward, changing to northward at a point 
immediately within the low outer hills of the range. West of the 
canyon the northerly dip is maintained to a point far up the slopes. 
East of the canyon there are a number of flexures of greater or less 
severity, but of short extent. The strata are also bent at this point, 
the strike, which east of Sulphur Canyon is N. 60° to 70° W., west of 
the gorge becomes east and west, or even a little south of west, this 
direction being maintained to a point beyond Matilija Creek. 

Cross-bedding is here and there observable. In the shaly zones there 
is a remarkable tendency to rapid variation in the thickness of the 
component layers; there also appears to be a certain amount of intra- 
formational unconformity. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: SESPE FORMATION. 


7 


DISTRIBUTION. 

The Topatopa formation occupies the heart of one of the greatest 
anticlines of southern California. The eastern limit of the formation 
is the eastern wall of Sespe Canyon. Westward it extends to a point 
far beyond the Ojai Ahalley—indeed, beyond Santa Barbara, a distance 
of at least 50 or 60 miles. Besides the area thus occupied there is pos¬ 
sibly a small inlier in the heart of the Coldwater anticline (see p. 8), 
although the distance beneath the lower members of the Sespe forma¬ 
tion is but slight. San Cayetano Mountain is also composed of this 
formation. 

AGE. 


Characteristic Eocene fossils have been obtained from the upper 
part of the Topatopa formation in the region north of the Silver 
Thread field. With the exception of the granite and gneisses pre¬ 
viously described, no rocks older than the Topatopa are exposed in 
the Santa Clara district. 

OCCURRENCE OF OIL. 

The Topatopa formation is oil bearing at several horizons, and from 
it come seepages and sulphur springs. While these have been observed 
more particularly from the upper portion, they are also reported from 
the lowest beds exposed at the heart of the anticline. 

SESPE FORMATION* 

GENERAL CHARACTER. 

The term Sespe has been employed a to designate a prominent and 
widely distributed mass of brownish-red sandstones and conglomer¬ 
ates, with minor layers of sandy and muddy shales, in all about 3,500 
feet thick. With these are included 400 or 500 feet of white sand¬ 
stone and greenish shale at the base and an equal amount of rust-col¬ 
ored calcareous sandstone at the top. The entire formation is exposed 
in a continuous section in the gorge of Sespe Creek near the entrance 
of Tar Creek and in the region which extends eastward between the 
waters of Tar and Little Sespe creeks. Throughout the formation the 
materials, whether fine or in the form of pebbles, are chiefly granitic. 
The coloring of the beds is in the main due to iron, but the pink feld¬ 
spar adds to the effect. 


a Waits, W. L., Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 11, 1897, pp. 25-2G. 






8 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


LOWER ZONE. 

Fig. 2 is a section of the lower 400 feet, which forms a persistent 
divisional zone between the Topatopa formation and the main mass 
of red beds. This part of the formation occurs at the mouth of a small 
tributary entering Sespe Creek from the slopes of Sulphur Peak at a 
point about a mile above the mouth of Tar Creek. It reappears 2 or 
3 miles lower down Sespe Creek, in the heart of the Coldwater anti¬ 
cline. The distinguishing features of this zone are the whiteness of 
its sandstones, in contrast with the measures both above and below, 
and the delicate green and pink tints which pervade its clays and 



Fig. 2. —East-west section across Sespe Canyon above mouth, of-Tar Creek, showing detail of the 
lower portion of the Sespe formation, together with its oil-bearing sands. 

shales. The heaviest of the sandstones is a bed about 80 feet thick 
at the base. The lower half of the zone has produced oil in com¬ 
mercial quantities. 

RED BEDS. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

The beds of brownish-red color which constitute the mass of the 
Sespe formation and overlie the lower zone present at their base a 
band of coarse conglomerate from 40 to 100 feet thick. Above this is 
300 or 400 feet of massive sandstone, with pebbles here and there. 
This is overlain by approximately 500 feet of heavy sandstone, with 







SANTA CLARA VALLEY : SESPE FORMATION. 9 

thin bodies of shale. The material of this sandstone is in many places 
coarse and gritty. Still higher are from 400 to 800 feet of sandstone 
and shale, the latter being somewhat more prominent than lower down 
in the formation. While the conglomerate is principally developed 
as indicated, layers of comparatively coarse pebbles are not infre¬ 
quently encountered from the base to the summit of the red beds. 
There are, however, great masses of sandstone of uniform texture and 
color, capable, it may be remarked incidentally, of yielding a building 
stone of high grade. These beds as here described maintain their 
principal characteristics of color, texture, and composition wherever 
encountered in the Topatopa Range and its subordinate ridges. 
They occur in the type locality of the formation and form a conspicu¬ 
ous feature along the northern edge of the Ojai Valley and farther 
west, in the vicinity of Summerland and Santa Barbara. 



Fig. 3.—North-south section on north side of Lower Ojai Valley, showing lithologic variation in strata. 


RED BEDS IN THE OJAI VALLEY. 

The Sespe formation or what is believed to be its stratigraphic 
equivalent in the Ojai Valley consists of conglomerates, sandstones, 
and shales, bright red and white, the former color largely predominat¬ 
ing. The red beds are not so unbroken, however, as in Sespe Canyon. 
On the contrary they are interrupted not only by certain white sand¬ 
stones, but also by very considerable bodies of rusty sediments, which 
in some instances suggest a transition to the formation that is possibly 
the equivalent of the Topatopa. This lithologic variation is illus¬ 
trated in the accompanying profile (fig. 3), which is taken from the 
lower slopes of the range bordering the Lower Ojai Valley on the north. 
The shales of the formation are not conspicuous, except in the region 




10 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


of Lion Canyon, where a thickness of between 50 and 100 feet in a 
single body is attained, the colors being rusty, gray, red, blue, and 
black. 

RED BEDS SOUTH OF THE SANTA CLARA. 

Certain evidence, which is as yet inconclusive, leads to the belief that 
south of Santa Clara River the Sespe formation is represented l> 3 r a 
succession of gray and red-banded sandstones and coarse arenaceous 
clays that are conspicuous along the lower slopes of Oak Ridge. The 
rocks correspond in composition to those of Sespe Canyon. The red 
color is similar in both localities, and the overlying formation in both 
instances bears lower Miocene fossils. In the heart of the anticline 
which passes along the front of Oak Ridge a short distance above its 
base the Sespe consists of a massive rusty-yellow sandstone, bearing 
layers of small granitic pebbles. The sandstone in fresh fractures is 
locally brown, apparently from having once been impregnated with 
petroleum. Immediately overlying it are from 150 to 400 feet of 
banded bright-red and gray sandstones, argillaceous sands, and arena¬ 
ceous clays. The transition is in some instances gradual, in others 
sharp and pronounced. The red and gray beds are also repeated 
beneath the rusty-yellow sandstone first described, as is evidenced in 
the wells of the Bardsdale Crude Oil Company, sunk adjacent to the 
axis of the anticline, a mile west of Grimes Canyon. Both red and 
gray beds are locally conglomeratic, the pebbles comprising clear 
quartz, red and blue quartzites, granite, chert, eruptives, and meta- 
morphic rocks of several varieties. Small bodies of white limestone 
also occur here and there, interbedded in the formation. 

OIL IN THE RED BEDS. 

North of the Santa Clara oil has been produced in considerable 
quantity at a number of horizons in the red beds, and south of the 
river, in at least one locality, the suggested homologues have also 
yielded some oil. 

UPPER ZONE. 

Immediately overlying the body of red beds is about 500 feet of 
ferruginous, greenish-gray calcareous sandstone, in layers 8 to 10 feet 
thick, separated by thin bands of shale. Certain beds of the sand¬ 
stone are so calcareous as to be almost sandy limestones. These are 
fossiliferous in many places, although no well-preserved forms were 
obtained. Oysters appear to predominate. The zone of sandstone 
thus defined is best seen in the ridge dividing Little Sespe Creek and 
its tributary, Fourfork Creek, from Tar Creek, and in the valley of the 
latter, where it appears as a conspicuous parting between the red beds 
below and the great series of Vaqueros shales above. 


Santa Clara valley : sespe formation. 


11 


RELATION OF UPPER SESPE BEDS TO VAQUEROS SHALE. 


No sharp lines of distinction separate the upper Sespe terrane from 
the underlying red beds or the overlying Vaqueros. On the contrary, 
there is a perceptible tendency for the terranes to shade one into 
another. Fossils of value have not yet been collected from this tran¬ 
sitional zone. There is, therefore, some uncertainty as to whether 
the beds in question should be referred to the Eocene or the Miocene. 
The red beds proper are commonly regarded as of Eocene age. In 
Sespe Canyon fragments of grayish-yellow sandstone, coming either 
from some horizon unrecognized but well up in the red beds or from 
a horizon corresponding to that of the rusty beds just described, have 
been found bearing well-marked Eocene fossils, among which are the 
forms Venericardia planicosta Lamarck (PI. XXV, fig. 1) and Turri- 
tella uvasana Conrad (PI. XLI, figs. 2 and 3). Beds of a similar 
nature, with an abundance of Tejon (Eocene) fossils, also occur along 
the northern edge of the Silver Thread oil field, west of Santa Paula 
Canyon, overlying certain pink and gray sandstones that are believed, 
on lithologic grounds, to belong to the Sespe. The following species 
have been found at this locality. With one exception they were iden¬ 
tified by the late J. G. Cooper.® 


Sespe ( Eocene) fossils from north side of Sisar Creek, west of Santa Paula Creek . 


Anatina sp. 

Cardium linteum Conrad. 
Corbula n. sp. 

Dentalium cooperi Gabb. 
Leda gabbi Conrad. 

Leda n. sp. 

Meretrix californiana Conrad. 
Nassa cretacea Gabb. 

Neaera dolabriformis Gabb. 
Nucula truncata Gabb. 
Nucula solitaria Gabb. 


Pecten calkinsi Arnold. 

Pecten interradiatus Gabb. 
Solen parallelus Gabb. 
Spirocrypta pileum Gabb. 
Tellina hoffmaniana Gabb. 
Tellina longa Gabb. 

Tellina parilis Gabb. 

Thracia semiplanata Whiteaves. 
Turbonilla n. sp. 

Yoldia arata Whiteaves. 

Yoldia nasuta Gabb. 


It may be, therefore, that the rocks in question represent the upper¬ 
most member of the Eocene in the region of the Santa Clara and the 
mountains to the north. On the other hand, the resemblance of sev¬ 
eral of the beds of this transitional zone to others a little higher in 
horizon, that bear identified Oligocene or lower Miocene forms, is to 
be borne in mind. To determine satisfactorily the limits not only of 
this, but of all the other formations in the Santa Clara district, a large 
amount of field work will be required. The difficulty will be enhanced, 
too, by the highly disturbed condition of the rocks and the compli¬ 
cated structural relations which they bear one to another, unless 
distinctly characteristic fossils are found to correlate the beds of the 


a Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 11, 1897, pp. 84-85. 






12 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


several localities. Tentatively, however, the line between the Sespe 
(Eocene) and the Vaqueros (lower Miocene) formations has been 
drawn at an indefinite horizon in the rusty beds described, at a point 
where the sandstone no longer predominates but is largely replaced 
by shale, yet below the lowermost lower Miocene fossils found. 

OIL, IN THE UPPER SESPE BEDS. 

It is probable that a portion of the oil yielded by the Fourfork and 
Tar Creek wells has been drawn from the rusty series at the summit 
of the red beds or else from similar thinner beds in the lower part of 
the Vaqueros formation. It will be observed that the entire series 
of beds designated the Sespe shows a remarkable distribution of 
petroleum, in both its vertical and horizontal extent. 

VAQUEROS FORMATION. 

AGE AND GENERAL CHARACTER. 

The formation designated Vaqueros, appears to be largely lower 
Miocene. The position of 3,000 feet of shale, such as make up the 
Vaqueros, below beds which are certainly well down in the Miocene, 
suggests the possibility that the lower part of the shale extends into 
the Oligocene. By a rough estimate the maximum thickness of the 
Vaqueros formation is between 2,000 and 3,000 feet, but the amount 
of sediment deposited evidently varied greatly from point to point. 
From the base upward the following more or less distinct zones are 
recognizable: Shales, purplish, rusty, and gray in color, purplish pre¬ 
vailing, perhaps 500 feet; a conspicuous zone of gray shale, 500 feet; 
a series of deep maroon, brown, and gray shales, approximately 
700 feet; and an upper body of siliceous shale and limestone, gray, 
but weathering a pronounced yellow, 500 or 600 feet. The formation 
is therefore distinctly one of shale from top to bottom. Through¬ 
out its extent lenticular limestones occur, with a tendency to form 
continuous bands a foot or two thick. Much of the shale also is 
calcareous. 

Through the lower half of the basal purplish zone are threaded 
thin layers of calcareous grits or gritty limestones. Where the quartz 
ingredient is sufficient, they resemble certain beds in the underlying 
rusty zone at the top of the Sespe formation. These beds are fossilif- 
erous, and from them were gathered the following representative 
forms, determined by Ralph Arnold: 

Fossils from Vaqueros formation. 

TAR CREEK, BY TRAIL SIDE. 

Modiolus sp. 

Ostrea cf. idriaensis Gabb. 

Pecten sespeensis Arnold (PI. XXXIII, figs. 1, la, 2). 

Turritella ineziana Conrad var. sespeensis Arnold (PI. XLI, fig. 6). 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: VAQUEROS FORMATION. 13 

IN TRIBUTARY ENTERING LITTLE SESPE CREEK AT FOOT-OF-THE-HILL WELLS. 

Balanus concavus Bronn. (PI. XXXII, figs. 5, 5a). 

Pecten sespeensis var. hydei Arnold (PI. XXXI, fig. 2). 

Placunanomia sp. 

Scutella fairbanksi Merriam (PI. XXIX, fig. 3; PI. XXX, fig. 3). 

LITTLE SESPE CREEK, BELOW FOOT-O F-THE-HILL WELLS. 

Balanus concavus Bronn. (PI. XXXII, figs. 5, 5a). 

Pecten sespeensis Arnold (type locality) (PI. XXXIII, figs. 1, la, 2). 

Trophon n. sp. (large). 

Turritella ineziana Conrad var. sespeensis Arnold (PI. XLI, fig. 6). 

The limestones bearing these fossils are conspicuous in their per¬ 
sistency. One or another appears at intervals for several miles 
along the Tar Creek trail; again on upper Fourfork Creek, half a 
mile west of the upper wells; on Little Sespe Creek below the Foot- 
of-the-Hill wells; and in a tributary that enters Little Sespe Creek in 
the vicinity of the Foot-of-the-Hill wells. Besides the foregoing 
fossils, both shale and limestone, from base to summit of the forma¬ 
tion, afford an abundance of foraminifera and fish integuments. 
The Vaqueros thus exhibits a degree of lithologic and paleontologic 
resemblance to the shale of the overlying Modelo formation. The 
stratigraphic position and unique fauna, however, determine the age 
of these beds, and the sharp line between them and the Modelo sand¬ 
stones above indicates that the division between the two formations 
should be located at that plane. 

About 30 feet below the contact of the gray and overlying maroon 
shale is a very persistent band of gray sandstone from 10 to 40 feet 
thick, the outcrop of which may be readily seen about the extensive 
amphitheater drained by Tar Creek. 

The upper series, of calcareous and siliceous shales, is strikingly 
similar in appearance to the Modelo of adjacent localities; moreover, 
they abound in foraminiferal forms. Were the Modelo sandstone to 
disappear and the shales of the Vaqueros and upper Modelo to be 
brought in contact it would be impossible to distinguish a break of 
importance in the entire succession. It is suspected, indeed, that 
this has happened in the western face of Oat Mountain and in the 
ridge running southward, although with a thinning of the series as a 
whole. 

VAQUEROS BEDS IN THE OJAI VALLEY. 

The Vaqueros formation in the Ojai Valley is composed of rust- 
colored conglomerate, sandstone, and shale, together with inter- 
laminated limestone. The conglomerates carry pebbles up to 2 
inches in diameter of black chert, white quartzite, gray granite, and 
purple, green, and maroon eruptives. In places, also, there are 
pebbles that possibly may have been derived from some outcrop of 


14 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


the Franciscan formation not far distant. The matrix of the con¬ 
glomerate is composed of the same materials as the pebbles. 

The sandstone bears a striking resemblance to that in the lower 
portion of the Vaqueros formation in the vicinity of Tar Creek, with¬ 
out, however, the strong development that it has there. 

The shale is argillaceous, fissile, and primarily of a blue-gray color, 
but this is modified to such an extent by the presence of iron that 
weathered surfaces and hill slopes are prevailingly rusty. Here and 
there faint tinges of red, pink, purple, and green are to be observed, 
shades that characterize the formation in the Tar Creek and Fourfork 
region. 

The limestone beds of the formation vary from a few inches to 6 
feet in thickness. They carry a large proportion of quartzose mate¬ 
rial and commonly show the presence of comminuted to more or less 
perfect oysters. Locally, also, they are found rich in other remains, 
notably pectens, turritellas, and barnacles, all of enormous size. 

The following list of fossils, collected by the writer and identified 
by Ralph Arnold, indicates the general character of the fauna in these 
beds: 

Fossils from the Vaqueros formation of the Ojai Valley. 

SOUTH FORK AT HEAD OF LOWER VALLEY, ONE-FOURTH OF A MILE ABOVE OLD 

REFINERY. 

Chione temblorensis Anderson (PL XXX, fig. 1). 

Mytilus mathewsonii Gabb var. expansus Arnold (PI. XXX, fig. 2). 

Neverita sp. indet. 

Pecten magnolia Conrad (PI. XXVIII, fig. 1). 

Pecten vaughani Arnold (PI. XXXIII, figs. 3, 3a). 

Tritonium, three sp. 

Trophon n. sp. (large). 

Turritella ineziana Conrad (PI. XLI, fig. 5). 

EAST END OF CREST OF RIDGE BETWEEN UPPER AND LOWER VALLEYS. 

Balanus sp. 

Chione sp. 

Dentalium sp. 

Leda sp. 

N'assa sp. 

Ostrea sp. 

Pecten crassicardo Conrad (PI. XXXI, fig. 1). 

Pecten lompocensis Arnold (PI. XXIX, fig. I). 

Phacoides sp. (flat). 

Tritonium or Fusus sp. 

Turritella cf. ineziana Conrad (young). 

The precise area of outcrop of the supposed Vaqueros beds in the 
Ojai Valley has not been defined, but one of the principal exposures, 
which afforded the fossils above enumerated, occurs along Refinery 
Gulch on the south'side of the upper portion of the Lower Ojai Valley. 
A second exposure is that in the locality of the section illustrated in 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: VAQUEROS FORMATION. 


15 


fig. 3. The lithologic features of this section indicate the correlation 
of the red and white sandstones with the Sespe red beds and of the 
overlying fossiliferous rusty beds with the Yaqueros formation, the 
heavy body of rusty sandstones occurring at the base of the Vaqueros 
in the Tar Creek _ locality being possibly a variable factor from one 
point to another. 

VAQUEROS FORMATION SOUTH OF THE SANTA CLARA. 

South of the Santa Clara, along South Mountain, Oak Ridge, and 
the Santa Susana Mountains, is a body of shale, sandstone, con¬ 
glomerate, and limestone, identified by their fossils with the yaqueros, 
but at variance with that formation north of the Santa Clara in 
the accession of conglomerate and in the relative proportions of the 
other sediments. Sandstone, for instance, is far more abundant in 
the formation south of the Santa Clara than north of it. Moreover, 
the thickness of the beds is greatly reduced south of the river, a mini¬ 
mum of 400 or 500 feet appearing in Oak Ridge and South Mountain, 
increasing to about 1,000 feet in the Santa Susana Mountains. 

The formation south of the Santa Clara, in its simplest form, con¬ 
sists of 300 or 400 feet of banded chocolate and gray argillaceous and 
arenaceous shales, sandstones, scattered limestone concretions, and 
more or less persistent mollusca-bearing calcareous grits, similar to 
the fossiliferous Vaqueros formation of the Tar Creek amphitheater. 
As a rule 50 to 100 feet of massive, coarse gray to yellow sand¬ 
stone, also yielding lower Miocene remains, separate the formation 
from the red and gray banded beds below, and another very similar 
bed, 40 or 50 feet thick, carrying fossils of the same age, marks the 
summit of the terrane. This upper sandstone divides the underlying 
shale from 200 or 300 feet of other shale that is more siliceous and 
chalky and nearer the Monterey type. 

Locally the shale of the Vaqueros formation south of the Santa 
Clara, in addition to its chocolate and gray colors, assumes faint green, 
blue, and red hues. Thin layers of white limestone appear here and 
there, some of which is highly crystalline, with almost the aspect of 
marble. The sandstone, ^particularly in the eastern half of the field, 
where it is better developed, carries spherical concretions resembling 
those of the lower Modelo stratum north of the Santa Clara. Besides 
the molluscan remains, casts and imprints of forammifera are common 
in the calcareous and siliceous members from base to summit of the 
formation. Toward its top a yellow color is to be observed at many 
places, pervading alike both shale and sandstone. 

The foregoing description of the Vaqueros south of Santa Clara 
River is more particularly applicable to that portion of the forma¬ 
tion which lies west of Garberson Canyon. East of this region con¬ 
siderable modification occurs. In Wiley Canyon, for instance, the 


16 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


heavy sandstone that forms so conspicuous a feature immediately 
above the red and gray banded beds at the foot of the main range 
is doubtless the local representative not only of the sandstone bed 
farther west, but also of a considerable proportion of the chocolate 
and gray banded sands and clays that overlie that bed. The change 
in the composition of the beds is gradual and can lie readily followed. 
The correlation of the sandstone is finally established by the pres¬ 
ence of fossils. It carries pebbles of granitic and other debris up to 
4 inches in diameter and concretions which, as already mentioned, 
closely resemble those of the lower Modelo sandstone north of the 
Santa Clara. The full thickness of the bed at Wiley Canyon can 
hardly be less than 600 feet- and is perhaps even in excess of this. 
It is overlain by 100 or 200 feet of gray and brown arenaceous 
shales and sands, a remnant of the beds that are so characteristic 
of the formation farther west, and these are succeeded by approxi¬ 
mately 200 feet of thin-bedded yellow sand and 100 feet of brown, 
gray, and white shale, which constitutes the uppermost member of 
the formation. The total thickness between the red and gray 
banded sandstone and shale of possible Eocene age and the siliceous 
shale of Monterey type capping the crest of the mountain is prob¬ 
ably not less than 1,000 feet. 

The beds cut by Tapo Canyon are broadly separable into the 
same formations as elsewhere in the Santa Susana Mountains, but 
their defining lines are more or less indistinct, and in some places 
it is not certain to which of the two principal formations the 
strata should be referred. There appears to be conformability, not 
to suggest transition, between the Miocene and Pliocene series at 
this point, although unconformability is the rule over the Coast 
Range territory. The younger series is, however, marked by con¬ 
glomerates, while the older is more slialy and its sandstones are 
more thinly bedded. Here and there the older sandstones are con¬ 
cretionary. The shales are brown or chocolate colored, show a sili¬ 
ceous tendency, and increase in proportion to the sandstones as 
depth in the series is gained. In the ridge between the middle and 
east forks of Tapo Creek fully 400 or 500 feet of shale, with a mini¬ 
mum of sandstone, underlies the higher, more sandy members. Both 
shale and sandstone are locally bituminous, and from them come 
several oil seepages of importance. In this series the wells of Tapo 
Canyon have been sunk. The foregoing description of the older 
succession of strata in these canyons suggests correlation with the 
banded sands and chocolate-colored shale of Torrey and Wiley can¬ 
yons and even in part with the Modelo north of the Santa Clara, 
though no fossils have been observed in either group of beds. In 
Tapo Canyon there is not less than 2,000. feet of the formation 
exposed, in Wiley Canyon the thickness is less than 1,000 feet, and 
farther west it is barely 500 feet. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: MODELO FORMATION. 17 

In the region of Pico Canyon and to the southeast the beds 
mapped as Yaqueros consist of a great mass of thin-bedded shale 
overlain by brown shale, with some more or less important sand¬ 
stone layers. Above these occur conglomerate, sandstone, and are¬ 
naceous clay, which are believed to belong to the Fernando forma¬ 
tion, and are so mapped, although no sharp line of demarcation was 
discovered between the two formations. 

The following fossils have been obtained from beds mapped as 
Yaqueros in the region south of Santa Clara River. Owing to the 
limited number of species represented the correlations are necessa¬ 
rily very broad. The identifications are by Ralph Arnold. 

Fossils from Yaqueros formation south of Santa Clara River. 

ELKIN’S RANCH, OAK RIDGE, EAST OF GRIMES CANYON. 

Ostrea eldridgei Arnold (PI. XXIX, figs. 2, 2a). 

Turritella ineziana Conrad var. (PI. XLI, fig. 4). 

i 

GULCII EAST OF WILEY CANYON. 

Pecten (Hinnites) giganteus Gray (PI. XXXII, fig. 1). 

Turritella ineziana Conrad var. (PI. XLI, fig. 4). 

CHAFFEE CANYON. 

Cardium n. sp. 

Dosinia n. sp. 

Ostrea sp. aff. titan Conrad. 

Panopea generosa Gould var. 

Phacoides sp. 

Acmsea or Trochita sp. 

Turritella cf. ineziana Conrad. 

TORREY CANYON AND VICINITY. 

Scutella fairbanksi Merriam (PI. XXIX, fig. 3, and PI. XXX, fig. 3). 

Mytilus mathewsonii Gabb var. expansus Arnold (PI. XXX, fig. 2). 

Ostrea sp. aff. titan Conrad. 

Pecten sespeensis var. hydei Arnold (PI. XXXI, fig. 2). 

MODELO FORMATION. 

GENERAL CHARALTER. 

The Modelo formation embraces at least two prominent bodies of 
sandstone and two of shale. The shale at many points bears a 
marked resemblance to that of the Monterey (middle Miocene), both 
from a lithologic and a paleontologic standpoint, and it may be that 
it is the correlative of that formation. The Modelo is distributed 
over a broad area north of the Santa Clara Yalley and through folding 
and faulting its members are brought into most complex relation¬ 
ships. However, it is believed that the distinctions given below 
will serve as a satisfactory means of differentiation. 


18 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


LOWER SANDSTONE. 

The lowest member, a massive, heavy-bedded sandstone, rests 
directly and apparently conformably upon the Yaqueros shale. It 
varies in thickness from 200 or 300 feet to perhaps 1,500 or 2,000 
feet. It is white to yellowish gray in color. Locally the sandstone 
is gritty, bearing also a dark-gray to black chert, and a few pebbles 
of another sandstone. It contains spherical and elliptical concre¬ 
tions from 1 foot to 5 feet in diameter, which are so prominent and 
so resistant to weathering as to form a conspicuous characteristic of 
the member, the more so because ol the utter lack of such concre¬ 
tionary bodies in a second, otherwise similar sandstone that occurs 
higher up. The upper half of the sandstone is less concretionary 
than the lower and is also thinner bedded, the layers being separated 
by shale of a dark-drab color, which carry scattered gray limestone 
concretions that weather yellow. Traces of organic life are also 
visible. This member is usually stained dark with petroleum. 

This lower sandstone early received the name Modelo, but the 
writer has thought it best to assign the name tentatively to the entire 
formation described in the opening lines of this section. The sand¬ 
stone is best displayed in the bold escarpment east of Tar Creek and 
is also heavily developed in Hopper Canyon and at the head of 
Modelo Canyon. A large number of productive wells have been 
drilled in Modelo Canyon, the oil being doubtless derived from some 
of the lower horizons of the formation. Plate II, A, gives an idea of 
the appearance of this sandstone in the region north of the Modelo 
wells. 

UPPER SANDSTONE. 

The upper sandstone of the Modelo formation is but little less con¬ 
spicuous than the lower, although its maximum thickness has been 
estimated at only 900 feet and in many places it is even less. It has 
the same mineral constitution as the lower bed, being composed of 
white, subangular quartz, with a trace of the salts of iron, which 
have colored it slightly yellowish. A considerable amount of dark 
chert is also present, and in one locality beautiful green and brown 
pebbles of siliceous shale were observed. The member is, however, 
nonconcretionary. It is also thinner bedded than the lower sand¬ 
stone and for 100 feet at the base is not only comparatively micaceous, 
but is split by minor bodies of shale, the whole somewhat darker than 
the portion overlying, seemingly from the presence of dried petroleum. 
This portion weathers a peculiar bluish gray. 

This sandstone is conspicuously developed in the region of Hopper 
Canyon, where it lies in a well-marked syncline that to the east is 
sharply compressed and, perhaps, faulted. South of this syncline the 
sandstone is involved in one or two other folds and finally, between 
Hopper and Nigger canyons, passes beneath the Santa Clara Valley. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : MODELO FORMATION. 


19 


SHALE IN THE MODELO. 

The two sandstones described above are divided by a body of earthy 
shale, gray to brown, which bears limestone concretions weathering 
yellow and whose thickness has been variously estimated at 400 to 
1,600 feet. Overlying the upper sandstone is a second body of shale, 
of uncertain thickness owing to the fact that in the region under dis¬ 
cussion not only has erosion removed the sediments down to an unde¬ 
termined horizon in the formation, but an unconformity also exists 
between this and the overlying formation. However, the thickness is 
variously estimated at between 200 and 1,500 feet, according to 
locality. This shale is indistinguishable from that separating the two 
Modelo sandstones already described. Both vary from a granular, 
siliceous type to one of an earthy and fissile character, more readily 
breaking down under the influence of weathering. The color of the 
lower bed is commonly light gray; that of the upper may be brown, 
gray, or yellowish. Both bodies carry calcareous layers and here and 
there lenticular limestone concretions that weather yellow. Were 
the upper sandstone to disappear the shales above and below would 
become a single mass, uniform in their general features, from top to 
bottom; were both sandstones to disappear it would be difficult to dis¬ 
tinguish these rocks from the upper portion of the Vaqueros formation. 
They would be more readily differentiated from the lower portion of 
the Vaqueros, however, by the variety of color in the older beds and 
by the marked change to the rusty, calcereo-arenaceous grit at their 
base. 

VARIATION IN COMPOSITION OF THE MODELO. 

The foregoing paragraphs describe what appears to be the normal 
section of the Modelo formation, but the aspect varies somewhat from 
point to point, by reason of the subdivision of the sandstones and the 
changes in their relative porportion to the formation as a whole. At 
the head of Modelo Canyon, for instance, the outcropping portion of 
the lower sandstone appears to be split into two bodies, each 300 feet 
thick, by 60 to 100 feet of shale, and a similar division is shown by 
the logs of wells drilled in this canyon. What may prove to be the 
upper sandstone is separated from the lower by only about 200 feet 
of brown shale as compared with 400 to 1,600 feet in the normal sec¬ 
tion. The enormous development of the Modelo sandstones in the 
lofty divide separating Tar Creek from the drainage of Hopper Canyon 
and Piru Creek is also at variance with the average thickness of either 
of these members, and it may be that the shales are reduced to a 
minimum in this locality, resulting in a sandstone facies for this 
formation amounting to at least 2,000 feet. 

South of Santa Clara River the Modelo formation is unrecognized, 
nor is it possible to find for it a proved correlative. Certain sand¬ 
stones assigned here to the Vaqueros terrane carry concretions that 


20 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


closely resemble those in the lower Modelo sandstone, and the asso¬ 
ciated shale is also very much like the shales of the Modelo series 
north of the river. Yet these beds south of the Santa Clara contain 
fossils similar in a measure to those of the lower members of the Vaque- 
ros in the Tar Creek, Little Sespe, and adjacent districts. This, 
with the diminished thickness south of the river, suggests a rapid and 
marked variation in conditions during the sedimentation of these 
mportant formations in the Santa Clara Valley. 

All the shales of the Modelo formation, as well as those of the Vaque- 
ros, carry at one horizon or another minute foraminiferal remains 
and fish integuments, similar in general appearance to those com¬ 
monly present in the Monterey shale in other portions of California. 

Many of the layers in the Miocene shales, whether older or younger, 
are flecked with particles of dried bitumen, indicating a general dis¬ 
tribution of petroleum throughout the shales and suggesting that it 
may have been derived from the abundant organic life once present 
in them. 

The lower Modelo sandstone also bears considerable bitumen in the 
region of Modelo Canyon, and it is said that in summer it yields numer¬ 
ous seepages of a comparatively light petroleum. 

SUPPOSED MODELO BEDS IN THE OJAI VALLEY AND SULPHUR MOUNTAIN. 

The supposed equivalent of the Modelo in the Ojai Valley and Sul¬ 
phur Mountain is confined to beds similar to those which characterize 
the upper portion of the formation in the type locality; that is, it con¬ 
sists of shale, siliceous, chalky, or earthy, in color white, gray, or 
locally maroon, carrying the customary limestone concretions and inter- 
bedded here and there with sandstone of fine grain and a thickness up 
to 10 or 15 feet. In the shale are found the usual foraminiferal remains, 
abundant pieces of fish integument, and, it is reported, even bony fish 
skeletons. The soil formed by the disintegration of the formation is 
black. The extreme silicification that is so common a feature of the 
shale immediately at and below a mountain crest in other localities 
is repeated in Sulphur Mountain. The thickness of the formation in 
the region under discussion seems to be at least 1,50D feet. 

CORRELATION OF THE UPPER SHALY PORTION OF THE MODELO WITH 

THE MONTEREY SHALE. 

In the Santa Clara district the presence of the Monterey formation 
is uncertain, although the uppermost shale of the Modelo north of the 
river and the great mass of siliceous shale and “ chalk rock” that so 
conspicuously caps the Santa Susana Mountains, Oak Ridge, and 
South Mountain, south of the river, may be a part of it. Only one 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: MODELO FORMATION. 


21 


fossil, the cast of a thin flat pecten, closely resembling Pecten pedroanus 
Trask (PL XXXVI, figs. 5, 6), lias so far been found in these shales; 
this was obtained in the outcrop immediately east of the road in Sul¬ 
phur Canyon, southwest of Bardsdale. This evidence, however, slip¬ 
py rts the suspected correlation, which otherwise is based on lithologic 
resemblances only. It might be well to say, furthermore, that the 
type locality of Pecten peckhami Gabb (PI. XXXI, fig. 3) is the Ojai 
Valley (probably in the shale on the south side) and that this species 
is unusually abundant in the Monterey shale in most regions where 
the formation is known. 

DIFFICULTIES OF CORRELATION BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES OF 

SANTA CLARA VALLEY. 

The division of the great series of beds north of the Santa Clara into the 
Vaqueros and Modelo is made easy by the abrupt and marked change in 

Jie character of the sediments at the contact of the lower Modelo 

* 

sandstone and the underlying shale. South of the river this division 
does not appear to hold, yet one or another of the characteristics of 
^he Miocene, taken as a whole, north of the river reappears on the 
south side, suggesting that the beds on both sides of the valley from 
base to summit should be included in a single formation. The diffi¬ 
culty of correlation south of the river is greatly increased by the pres¬ 
ence of sharp folds and faults. For example, in the normal succession 
the siliceous shale and the “chalk rock'’ unquestionably overlie 
beds of altogether different character, identified as the Vaqueros; yet 
at the east end of Oak Pidge and in the western portion of the 
Santa Susana Mountains an equally heavy body of siliceous shale 
appears to dip beneath similar shale that is believed to be of lower 
Miocene age. This unusual succession may be attributable to fault¬ 
ing, the siliceous shale being the younger. On the other hand, it 
may possibly be that the siliceous shale capping Oak Ridge corresponds 
to the mass of siliceous shale that occurs as the uppermost of the 
Vaqueros beds in their type locality. In this case the Modelo would 
be entirely wanting south of the river. 

Another element in the difficulty of correlating the formations on 
opposite sides of Santa Clara River is the remarkable decrease in 
thickness toward the south. It would seem that the formations 
referred to have their type and maximum development north of the 
Santa Clara, and that south of the river the formations are thin, either 
through lack of material or through rapid changes in the attitude of 
the land, which resulted in intervals of nondeposition or even of ero¬ 
sion during the time the beds were being laid down. 

Bull. 309—07-3 



22 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


BURNING OF THE SHALE. 

The siliceous shale and ‘ 1 chalk rock ’ ’ forming the crest of the moun¬ 
tains south of the Santa Clara have at many points been burned to a 
bright-red color. The fuel which supported such fires was perhaps 
the originally contained petroleum. 

Opposed to this view, however, is the very considerable depth to 
which the shale has been altered to a brilliant-red lava-like rock; hence 
it may be inferred that spontaneous combustion alone has brought 
about the modification. 


FERNANDO FORMATION. 


GENERAL CHARACTER AND AGE. 


The rocks that have received the name Fernando® consist of an 
enormous succession of conglomerates, sandstones, and arenaceous 
clays, largely of Pliocene age, developed over considerable portions of 
southern California. Fossils collected at many localities and at many 
horizons throughout the formation indicate that it extends from the 


upper Miocene '(San Pablo formation of the general geologic column 
of the State) well up in the Pleistocene (San Pedro formation). It 
is possible to subdivide the formation locally on both lithologic and 
paleontologic grounds, but taken over a considerable extent of terri¬ 
tory these divisions merge into one another both stratigraphically and 
geographically by insensible gradations. An unconformity usually 
marks both the base and the top of the formation, although in several 
localities in the Santa Clara region that at the base is difficult if not 
impossible to detect. 

Along the sides of the Santa Susana Mountains and Oak Ridge and 
in the region east of Newhall the coarser beds of this formation are 
usually white, gray, or yellow, the clays bluish gray. The material 
of the conglomerate is principally granitic, but pebbles of the inter¬ 
mediate formations are occasionally found. In the limited region 
under survey no established succession of the different sediments was 
observed, although a broader field would doubtless reveal it. The 
unconformities are always to be reckoned with, and to them may be 
due in large measure the variations in the rocks that are in contact. 
Incidentally it may be observed that perhaps to them also may be 
due the fact that whereas south of the general fold out of which the 
several ranges are formed the Fernando is usually in contact with 
siliceous shale, north of the anticline, on the slopes of the Santa Susana 
Mountains, it is found resting directly upon beds that are of the 
Vaqueros facies. 


a A term applied in unpublished maps by Homer Hamlin a number of years ago to the beds above the 
siliceous shale skirting the sides of the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County—the general equiva¬ 
lents of all the post-Modelo, pre-Saugus beds in the Santa Clara province. 




SANTA CLARA VALLEY: FERNANDO FORMATION. 


23 


In the vicinity of the Piru Valley the Fernando formation consists 
in ascending order of (1) a thick body of sandstone and conglomerate; 
(2) sandy shale and clay; and (3) heavy-bedded coarse conglomerate. 
These form the northern slope of the ridge north of Camulos, the dis¬ 
tance of about 4,000 feet being equally divided among them. Over- 
lying the upper conglomerate are several hundred feet of greenish-gray 
clay, and it is believed that this is succeeded in turn by 1,500 to 2,000 
feet of alternating sandstone and conglomerate. If the succession is 
continued, clays then follow to the valley of the Santa Clara. In all, 
the formation is fully 5,000 or 6,000 feet thick in this vicinity, and if 
its thickness could be determined over the entire area that amount 
would doubtless be increased by many thousands of feet. The mate¬ 
rials of the conglomerates include granite, shale derived from the 
Miocene, and a few eruptives. 

North of the Santa Clara Valley, extending from the mouth of Sespe 
Canyon westward to the Pacific Ocean at Ventura, is another exten¬ 
sive area of the Fernando. The formation is best developed in the 
hills between Santa Clara River and Sulphur Mountain, where the 
succession consists of sandstones and conglomerates, underlain by a 
thick body of clay dirt-brown to gray in color. This clay is arenace¬ 
ous and grades into sandstone both transverse to the strata and along 
the strike. In places even pebbly layers may be found in this part of 
the formation. Beneath the clay is another mass of heavy-bedded 
sandstone and conglomerate, separated by minor layers of clay, 
resembling that just described. If there are not faults in these beds— 
and none were detected—the thickness can hardly be less than 8,000 
or 10,000 feet, about equally divided between the three varieties of 
sediments mentioned. Some of the lower sands are bituminous and 
their associated clavs are brown or blue. 

On the lower slopes of San Cayetano Mountain, making up a part of 
the area outlined in the preceding paragraph, is a mass of gray clay and 
shale, sandstone, and heavy gravel beds, all more or less hardened 
and resistant to weathering, which belong to the upper Fernando. 
The pebbles making up the gravel deposits are granite, quartsite, sand¬ 
stone, limestone, and the harder shale ail derived from the moun¬ 
tains of the Sespe region. 

PALEONTOLOGY OF THE FERNANDO FORMATION. 

At least three distinct faunas are recognizable in the Fernando, 
representing what are thought to be in a very general way the bottom, 
middle, and top of the formation. The oldest fauna was found in the 
area north and northeast of Camulos, and is, according to J. C. Mer- 
riam, the equivalent of the fauna of at least a part of the San Pablo 
formation. The middle fauna was found well developed in the region 
of Elsmere Canyon and Fernando Pass, and probably represents the 


24 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


typical fossiliferous portion of the Purisima and the lower part of the 
San Diego formation. The upper portion of the Fernando extends 
well up into the Pleistocene, as is attested by the fossils found at Bar¬ 
low’s ranch and on the south slopes of Mount San Cayetano; these 
have been correlated with the fauna contained in the San Pedro for¬ 
mation. 

LOWER FERNANDO FAUNA. 

The following species have been found in what is supposed to be 
the oldest portion of the Fernando, in the region north of Camulos:® 

Fossils from the lower part of the Fernando formation , near Camulos. 

[Those marked “a” are from the light-colored shale underlying the conglomerate on Santa Felicia 
Creek; “b,” from conglomerate 5 miles northeast of Camulos; “c,” from fine conglomerate and coarse 
sandstone 1 mile north of Camulos; “d,” from coarse conglomerate 1 mile north of Camulos; “e,” 
from conglomerate on the east side of Piru Creek, near the railroad bridge.] 

Area camuloensis Osmont (b, cl) (PI. XXXVII, figs. 1, la, lb). 

Bulloid n. sp. (c). 

Callista subcliaphana Carpenter (c) (PI. XXXIX, lig. 3;. 

Cancellaria n. sp. (b). 

Cardium sp. (b). 

Chlorostoma sp. (c). 

Chrysodomus n. sp. (1) (b). 

Chrysodomus n. sp. (2) (c, d). 

Conus californicus Hinds (b, e). 

Conus cast, sp. indet. (c). 

Corbula n. sp. (c). 

Dosinia ponderosa Gray? (c). 

Echinarachnius, near excentrieus Eschscholtz (a). 

Fusus rugosus Trask (d). 

Leda taphria Dali (b, c) (PI. XXXVIII, lig. 5). 

Lunatia lewisii Gould (c, d). 

Macoma, near secta Conrad (a). 

Macoina secta Conrad (b). 

Mangilia sp., probably new (c). 

Metis alta Conrad? (d). 

Nassa californiana Conrad (b). 

Nucula castrensis Hinds (d). 

Nucula n. sp. (c, d). 

Ostrea veatchii Gabb (d) (PL XXXIX, fig. f). 

Pachypoma n. sp. (a, b). 

Pecteh bellus Conrad (e) (PI. XXXV, fig. 3). 

Pecten cerrosensis Gabb (c, d) (PI. XXXV, fig. 6). 

Pecten merriami Arnold (a) (PI. XXXVI, fig. 9). 

Priene oregonensis Pedfield var. angelensis Arnold (IT. XL, fig. II) 
Phacoides sp., probably new (b). 

Solen sicarius Gould (a). 

Turritella n. sp. (b). 

Yoldia scissurata Dali (c). 

«Collected by W. L. Watts; identified by J. C. Merriam; listed in Bull. California State Mining 
Bureau No. 19, 1900, pp. 220-222. 





SANTA CLARA VALLEY : FERNANDO FORMATION. 


25 


MIDDLE FERNANDO FAUNA. 

The following species, found in Elsmere Canyon and the region of 
Fernando Pass, apparently represent a somewhat later fauna than 
that just described. The identifications are by Ralph Arnold. 

Fossils from the middle of the Fernando formation, Elsmere Canyon. 

Amiantis callosa Conrad (PI. XXXIX, fig. 2). 

Area trilineata Conrad (PL XXXVIII, figs. 3, 4). 

Callista subdiaphana Carpenter (PI. XXXIX, fig. 3). 

Cancellaria fernandoensis Arnold (PI. XL, fig. 4). 

Cardium quadrigenarium Conrad var. fernandoensis Arnold (PI. XXXVIII, 
fig. 2). 

Cliione n. sp. (small). 

Chrysodomus arnoldi Rivers. 

Cryptomya californica Conrad. 

Cyprsea fernandoensis Arnold (PI. XL, fig. 8). 

Dolichotoma ef. carpenteriana Gabb. 

Macoma indentata Carpenter. 

Maeoma sp. 

Mactra cf. liemphilli Dali. 

Modiolus rectus Conrad. 

Monia macroschisma Dali. 

Murex eldridgei Arnold (PL XL, fig. 12). 

Mya truncata Linne. 

Neptunea humerosa Gab)). 

Neverita recluziana Petit (PL XXXVIII, fig. 6). 

Olivella intorta Carpenter. 

Panopea generosa Gould. 

Pecten cf. caurinus Gould (Pl. XXXVI, fig. 1). 

Pecten estrellanus Conrad var. catalinse Arnold. 

Pecten healeyi Arnold, 17 rib. var. (Pl. XXXIV, fig. 1). 

Pecten cf. parmeleei Dali (Pl. XXXVI, fig. 7). 

Phacoides acutilineatus Conrad. 

Pisania fortis Carpenter var. angulata Arnold (Pl. XL, figs. f> and 7). 

Priene oregonensis Redfield, var. angelensis Arnold (Pl. XL, fig. 11). 

Tapes tenerrima Carpenter. 

Tellina idse Dali (?). 

Tritonium sp. 

Trochita filosa Gabb (Pl. XL, figs. 2, 2a). 

Turritella cooperi Carpenter, var. fernandoensis Arnold (PL XLI, fig. 13). 

UPPER FERNANDO FAUNA. 

Lists of species from three localities are given to show the char¬ 
acteristics of the fauna of the upper portion of the Fernando. The 
fossils in the first list may possibly be slightly older than those in 
the second, which in turn appear to be a little older than those in 
the third. The species from Barlow’s ranch have been correlated 
with the fauna contained in the upper fossiliferous beds at San 
Pedro, which are well up in the Pleistocene. 


26 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Fossils from the upper part of the Fernando formation. 

NORTHWEST OF SANTA PAULA, a 

[Those followed by an “E” are from Goat Mountain, near the mouth of Adams Canyon; those fol¬ 
lowed by an “ F” are from Santa Paula Creek, between Mupa schoolhouse and Sulphur Mountain.] 

Astrodapsis whitneyi Conrad (F). 

Astyris richtliofeni Gabb (E). 

Bittium aspersum Gabb (E). 

Cardium corbis Conrad (E). 

Cardium procerum Sowerby (F). 

Chione mathewsoni Gabb (F). 

Chione whitneyi Gabb (F). 

Chorus belcheri Hinds (F). 

Clidiopliora punctata Conrad (E). 

Crepidula princeps Conrad (E). 

Cryptomya californica Conrad (E). 

Dentalium semipolituni Broderip (F). 

Echinarachnius excentricus Eschscholtz (F). 

Galerus inornatus Gabb (F). 

Glycymeris intermedia Broderip (F). 

Iiipponyx cranioides Carpenter (F). 

Lacuna solidula Loven (E). 

Lsevicardium centifilosum Carpenter (F). 

Lunatia lewisii Gould (E). 

Macoma n. sp. (F). 

Metis alta Conrad (E). 

Mitra maura Swainson (E). 

Modiolus rectus Conrad (E). 

Monoceros lugubre Sowerby (F). 

Murex monoceros Sowerby (F). 

Nassa ealiforniana Conrad (E). 

Nassa perpinguis Hinds (E). 

Nassa mendica var. cooperi Forbes (F). 

Neptunea altispira Gabb (E). 

Olivella intorta Carpenter (E). 

Panopea generosa Gould (E). 

Psephis tantilla Gould (E). 

Semele n. sp. (E). 

Solen rosaceus Carpenter (E, F). 

Siliquaria edentula Gabb (F). 

Spisula planulata Conrad (E). 

Tellina idee Dali (E). 

Tresus nuttalli Conrad (E). 

Triton gibbosus Broderip (E). 

Turritella jewetti Carpenter (E) (PI. XLI, fig. 15). 

Turbonilla sp. (F). 

SOUTHEASTERN FLANKS OF MOUNT SAN CAYETANO. b 

Area cf. labiata Sowerby. 

Bittium cf. asperum Gabb. 

Nassa perpinguis Hinds. 

Calliostoma or Margarita sp. 

° Collected, by W. L. Watts; identified by J. G. Cooper; listed in Bull. California State Mining 
Bureau, No. 11, 1897, pp. 81-83. 

& Collected by the writer; identified by Ralph Arnold. 





SANTA CLARA VALLEY : FERNANDO FORMATION. 


27 


Cardium cf. quadrigenarium Conrad (?). 

Crepidula cf. rugosa Nuttall. 

Lacuna (?) sp. 

Led a sp. 

Macoma sp. 

Modiolus (?). 

Olivella sp. 

Pholadidea cf. penita Conrad. 

Psephis cf. lordi Carpenter. 

Saxidomus gracilis Gould. 

Siliqua patula Dixon (?). 

Tapes staminea Conrad. 

Tresus nuttalli Conrad (?). 

Turritella cooperi Carpenter (PI. XLI, fig. 14). 

Yoldia (?) sp. 

BARLOW’S RANCH, 3 MILES EAST OF VENTURA.a 

Acmsea pelta Eschscholtz. 

Actaeon (Rictaxis) punctocoelata Carpenter. 

Angulus buttoni Dali. 

Anomia lampe Gray. 

Balanus concavus Bronn. 

Bittium asperum Gabb. 

Cad ulus fusiformis Sharp and Pilsbry. 

Cancellaria triton idea Gabb. 

Chione succincta Valenciennes. 

Chlorostoma funebrale A. Adams. 

Chorus belcheri Hinds. 

Columbella (Astyris) gausapata Gould. 

Columbella (Astyris) gausapata, var. carinata Hinds. 

Crepidula adunca Sowerby. 

Cryptomya californica Conrad. 

Cylichna alba Brown. 

Dentalium hexagonum Sowerby. 

Donax laevigata Deshayes. 

Drillia hemphilli Stearns. 

Drillia inermis Hinds. 

Drillia inermis var. penicillata Carpenter. 

Echinarachinius excentricus Eschscholtz. 

Eulima micans Carpenter. 

Eulima liastata Sowerby. 

Lacuna compacta Carpenter. 

Littorina scutulata Gould. 

Macoma nasuta Conrad. 

Mactra catilliformis Conrad. 

Mangilia angulata Carpenter. 

Modiolus fornicatus Carpenter. 

Monoceros engonatum Conrad. 

Nassa Californianum Conrad. 

Nassa fossata Gould. 

Nassa mendica Gould. 

Nassa perpinguis Hinds. 

a Arnold, Ralph, The paleontology and stratigraphy of the marine Pliocene and Pleistocene of San 
Pedro, Cal.: Mem. California Acad. Sci., vol. 3, 1902, p. 55. 





28 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Neverita recluziana Petit. 

Neverita recluziana var. alta Dali. 

Odostomia gouldii Carpenter. 

Odostomia nuciformis var. avellana Carpenter. 

Odostomia tenuis Carpenter. 

Olivella biplicata Sowerby. 

01 ivella intorta Carpenter. 

Olivella pedroana Conrad. 

Pecten latiauritus var. monotimeris Conrad. 

Saxidomus aratus Gould. 

Scala crebricostata Carpenter. 

Scala tincta Carpenter. 

Tapes tenerrima Carpenter. 

Terebra simplex Carpenter. 

Tornatina culcitella Gould. 

Tornatina harpa Dali. 

Turritella cooperi Carpenter (PI. XLI, fig. 14). 

Turbonilla laminata Carpenter. 

Turbonilla, four sp. (?). 

Yoldia cooperi Gabb. 

PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS. 

DEPOSITS IN THE VICINITY OF SAUGUS. 

The low hills that border the broad, open valley of Santa Clara 
River in the vicinity of Saugus are covered by a prominent body of 
gravel, sand, and arenaceous clay, the gravel largely predominating. 
The coarser material is mostly composed of granite, derived, prob¬ 
ably, from the San Gabriel Range. Traces of other rocks, however, 
are included with the granite, and the whole is loosely cemented 
together. The beds have a general dip of 2° to 10° toward the center 
of the valley. The thickness of the terrane is undetermined. Above' 
the level of the valley perhaps 300 or 400 feet are exposed, but below 
the valley the extent of the formation is not known. These beds 
are probably of fresh-water origin and, though they have yielded no 
fossils whatever, their unconformable position on the Fernando sug¬ 
gests late Pleistocene as the time of their deposition. 

DEPOSIT AT MOUTH OF SESPE CANYON. 

At one point overlooking Sespe Creek there is a cut bluff showing 
bright-red sediments of apparently the same materials as those just 
described. The deposit was not examined in detail. It may pro ve¬ 
to be a remnant of the Sespe formation or a portion of the Pleistocene 
that is composed of red material derived from the Sespe. 

CONGLOMERATE OF LION CANYON. 

In the vicinity of the Lion Canyon wells is a conglomerate that has 
not hitherto been recognized at any point in the Ojai Valley, nor, 
indeed, elsewhere in the ranges that border the Santa Clara. Its 


v__y kj.. v_>» j _x xx_i 




BULLETIN NO.309 PL.Ill 


CHARLES D.WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


Sea level. 


Sea 


GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE SECTIONS ACROSS MT. PINOS, TEJ ON, SANTA PAULA, AND CAM Cl,OS QUADRANGLES, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 

* 


For location, of sections see FI. I 
-----J 


l et el 


Sea Level 
SOO 


PLIOCENE pleistocene 


3760 


2500 


1250 


TO PAT 0 PA 


LOWER SESPE 


MIDDLE SESPE 


EOCENE 


MODELO 

MIOCENE 


o - 


Santa Clara Valley 


FERNANDO 


RECENT 


CO c 

Q.— 

°Ti 
+- u 
co •- 

o c 
h* n 


MIDDLE SESPE 


UPPER SESPE VAQUEROS 


Sea, level 


Shale and clay Shale Math included limestone Sandstone 


Horizon.! ai scale 

2 3 


Conglomerate and gravel Concretionary sandstone 

miles 















































































































































































SANTA CLARA VALLEY: STRUCTURE. 


29 


leading feature is the contained bowlders of sandstone, differing but 
slightly in composition from the matrix or body of the rock itself. 
It appears only in the limited area between the Sespe and Modelo 
formations. A somewhat similar occurrence is found at the east end 
of the Upper Ojai Valley, where Sisar Creek leads out from it. The 
stratigraphic relations of this rock are uncertain, but its composition 
suggests that it may be the remnant of a Recent formation of bowlder 
sand which here and there skirts the Upper Ojai Valley, forming 
along its northern side, locally, extensive benches. In the region of 
the Lion Canyon wells the rock is impregnated with bitumen, and 
seepages spring from it. It is penetrated by the wells, but it is 
believed that they derive their oil from the underlying formation. 

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF DISTRICT. 

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 

It has been deemed expedient to divide the discussion of the struc¬ 
ture of the region bordering the Santa Clara Valley into two sections. 
The first, -embracing a brief exposition of the more important fea¬ 
tures, is included in the pages immediately following. The second, 
dealing with those details so essential for purposes of practical appli¬ 
cation, is subdivided, each portion being included in the description 
of the territory to which it refers. It may be well to call the reader’s 
attention to the general sections on Pis. Ill and IV. These sec¬ 
tions, together with the structural features depicted on the map (PI. I, 
pocket), will doubtless more vividly portray the writer’s interpre¬ 
tation of the structure than many chapters of descriptive text. 

SANTA CLARA VALLEY. 

The structure of the rocks underlying the Santa Clara Valley is per¬ 
plexing. For several miles below Saugus the great body of younger 
conglomerate, sandstone, and clay of the Fernando formation passes 
diagonally across the bottom lands into the hills on either side, main¬ 
taining a strike of N. 50°-60° W. and a dip of 25°-50° NE. Within 
this area there is no apparent break in the regularity of the strati¬ 
graphic succession. From the mouth of Salt Creek westward, how¬ 
ever, the hill formations become more and more folded, or even 
faulted, while the continuity of structure between the two sides of the 
valley is interrupted by a broad belt of river gravel. Lithologic simi¬ 
larity of both Miocene and Pliocene sediments at the several horizons 
adds still further to the difficulties attending a correct interpretation 
of the geologic conditions. The great mass of evidence suggests an 
enormous fault along the valley in the region north of South Mountain, 
the displacement dying out as it passes up the river. Final interpre¬ 
tation of the valley structure has, however, been reserved for a time 


30 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

when the general geology of the region shall be the primary object of 
investigation. The strip of enigmatical territory occupied by the 
valley therefore forms an obviously ideal line of division between the 

I two more or less structurally distinct areas north and south of it, and 
advantage will be taken of this fact to discuss each of these areas sepa¬ 
rately. 

REGION NORTH OF THE SANTA CLARA. 

Of the great mountain system north of the Santa Clara Valley the 
southern member, the Topatopa Range, is alone involved in the 
geology of the developed oil fields. This range is 30 or 40 miles long; 
its trend is east and west; its structure is anticlinal, the axis passing 
a few miles north of the area mapped in Pis. I and V. 

In the region of Sespe Creek the axis of the anticline lies beneath the 
crest of the range and is occupied by characteristic quartzites and 
slates to which has been assigned the name Topatopa formation. The 
anticline is symmetrical and is well displayed in the canyon walls. 
About the Topatopa formation bend in succession the Sespe, Vaque- 
ros, Modelo, and Fernando beds, all strongly developed and forming 
conspicuous features of the landscape. Toward the east the point of 
the anticline broadens, the Modelo sandstone outcropping in a wide 
sweep about the axis and the youngest beds covering a still greater 
area in their arch. The west end of this great anticline has not been 
located, the consideration of its east end being sufficient for the pur¬ 
poses of the present report. 

The northern side of the anticline is unexplored, and whether the 
prominent ridge of granite lying to the north is produced by faulting 
or is a part of a separate dynamic system is unknown. 

The southern limb of the anticline presents an intricate succession 
of secondary folds and accompanying faults that extend from Ventura 
River and the Ojai Valley beyond Piru Creek. East of Santa Paula 
Creek the strata are strongly bowed to the south. At Sespe Creek the 
curvature is as pronounced in the opposite direction. Immediately 
west of Hopper Canyon the convex side of the bend is again to the 
south, while east of Piru Creek regularity of trend is once more ap¬ 
proximately resumed. North and east of the Ojai Valley the south 
limb of the Topatopa anticline is overturned. 

An examination of the map makes it obvious that faults are the 
dominant structural feature in the Ojai Valley, at the west end of the 
territory under discussion. No less than five fractures cross the 
region from east to west, divergent in trend from N. 60° W. at the 
north to S. 75° W. at the south. The result has been a succession of 
interfault blocks more or less limited in size, with considerable varia¬ 
tion in the strata opposed. The faults originated nearly at a common 
center in the great fracture passing in front of San Cayetano Moun- 












U S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
CHARLES D WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


Santa Clara Valley 






E Feet 


Santa Clara 
Vail 


.Sen level 


GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE SECTIONS ACROSS CAM CEOS, SANTA SUSANA, AM) FERNANDO QUADRANGLES, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 


Sea level 


Santa Susana 
Mountains 

Feet K ^ 

2SPO 


Shale and. clay Shale with included limestone Sandstone 


Horiz ontal s c al e 

Z 3 


Corti; Joiner ate and gravel Concretionary sandstone 

_ -t- _S mites 


G 

3 

Santa Clara Valley £ 


FERNANDO 


TOPATOPA 


S W 


SW 


G Feet 


Santa Susana 
Mountains 


Sea, level 


K‘ 

Santa Clara 
Valley 


NW 


Feet 


Santa Susana 
Mountains 


N E 


For location, oi'sections see PI. I. 


SW 


N W 


_c 

_u 

3 

O JT> 

Feet 


Sea level 

NE 


NlODELO 


VAQUEROS 


N E 


Sea 






































































































































SANTA CLARA VALLEY: STRUCTURE. 


31 


tain. The northernmost fault lies between the rusty Vaqueros beds 
and the Modelo shale. South of this is the second fracture of the 
system, the block between them being composed of Modelo shale. 
Between the second and third faults, the latter passing immediately 
north of Lion Ridge, is a narrow block of rusty beds of the Vaque¬ 
ros type. South of this is a comparatively broad zone of the Sespe 
formation, which in turn is separated from the Modelo shale, consti¬ 
tuting Sulphur Mountain, by one of the most extensive faults of the 
region. South of Sulphur Mountain there is a fifth fault, marked by 
a line of seepages and oil wells. The evidence of faulting, however, 
must not be confused with the unconformity which exists between 
the Modelo and the Fernando. The shale of Sulphur Mountain is 
considerably crumpled, at least two marked anticlines (one of which 
is locally overturned) and the intervening syncline being present 
through nearly its whole length. The conglomerate, sand, and shale 
of the Fernando formation, south of their contact with the Modelo 
shale of Sulphur Mountain, maintain a southerly dip with marked 
persistency, at most varied only by minor and localized flexures. 

The structural features west of Santa Paula Creek continue to the 
east for 4 or 5 miles, in front of Santa Paula Ridge and San Cayetano 
Mountain, but the faults terminate one by one or coalesce, until at the 
easterly apex of the region the disappearance of interfault blocks has 
brought the late Tertiaries into contact with the much earlier Topa- 
topa formation, the great San Cayetano fault alone separating them. 

In the Sespe district it is to be observed that the formations enter 
the Camulos quadrangle at its northern border from their passage 
around the east end of the axis of the Topatopa anticline, which lies 
between 1 and 2 miles to che north. Within the quadrangle crump¬ 
ling begins near its northern border—at first gentle, then severe. The 
major features resulting from this movement are the Coldwater anti¬ 
cline, southeast of the broad table of red beds, and still farther south 
the syncline, whose eastern extension passes through the summit of 
Oat Mountain. South of the western part of this syncline is the great 
northward-dipping monocline of Topatopa beds on the north flank of 
Mount San Cayetano. Near the mouth oFSespe Canyon the beds are 
greatly disturbed by the close approach of the San Cayetano fault and 
the syncline just mentioned. 

In the region east of Sespe Creek the more important of the subor¬ 
dinate or secondary folds include a partially overturned anticline 
southwest of Hopper Mountain; the Oat Mountain syncline, already' 
referred to; an anticline that crosses lower Pole Canyon at its sharp 
turn from south to west, and another anticline a mile farther south. 
Each of these folds is a conspicuous feature of the geology from one or 
another point of view, but the syncline is perhaps the most marked, 
involving, as it does, the strata from the upper Modelo shale to the red 


32 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


beds of the Sespe. In addition to these, there are numerous local 
folds and one or two faults, each of which is of almost equal import 
ance to the features first mentioned. 

Both Hopper and Piru canyons, in the lower 10 miles, have been 
developed across the structure at points where the strata are exten¬ 
sively puckered, each canyon lying a little east of the axis of a sharp 
strike flexure. The western of the two axes presents a change in 
trend from N. 65°-70° W. to N. 50°-70° E. The easterly axis shows a 
reverse change from N. 60° E. through east-west to N. 80° W. Locally 
slight departures from the general trend are to be found. For 
instance, the Modelo anticline and the syncline immediately to its 
south have a direction approximately east and west, and a number of 
minor folds between 1 mile and 2 miles in length, particularly con¬ 
spicuous on the east side of Hopper Canyon, lie diagonally to the gen¬ 
eral trend of the larger flexures. Between the individual folds of the 
several trends direct continuity has not been established, but there is 
a suggestion of this in several instances, notably in the Oat Mountain 
syncline, which apparently can be traced from Sespe Creek nearly to 
the Modelo district, and again in the Lyons anticline, which almost 
certainly passes directly from the Piru Valley to Hopper Canyon. In 
any event, the folds are unquestionably the associated crumples of 
a single affected zone that passes continuously, though with wavy 
trend, from the region of Mount San Cayetano to that of Piru Creek. 

PL III, sec. X-Z', illustrates the general occurrence of petroleum in 
the mountains north of the Santa Clara Valley. The section without 
being continuous nevertheless represents in nearly their true succes¬ 
sion the formations that occupy this great area and portrays the 
structural features that prevail in most of the productive oil territories. 
The line of the section is laid down on the map (PI. I). Besides being 
somewhat irregular it presents two important offsets that were nec¬ 
essary to the generalization of the conditions. One of these offsets 
(x'-y) occurs at Little Sespe Creek and is a mile in length; the other 
(y'-z) embraces the interval between Brush Mountain and Piru Peak, 
a distance of 5 miles. In both intervals, however, the break in the 
stratigraphic succession is reduced to a minimum. 

The formations involved include the Topatopaformation; the Sespe 
formation, with its three divisions—base, middle, and top; the Vaque- 
ros formation, with its several bands of varicolored clays; the 
Modelo sandstones and their accompanying shales, a portion of which 
at least may correspond to the Monterey, and the Fernando forma¬ 
tion, which probably extends from the Miocene through the Pliocene 
and well up into the Pleistocene. Their distribution over the line of 
the section may be gathered from the illustration. There are, how¬ 
ever, certain features which it may be well to consider somewhat at 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : STRUCTURE. 33 

length, for the reason that they have a bearing on the occurrence of 
petroleum. 

The Topatopa anticline, shown at the left of the section, involves 
rocks of the Topatopa formation, which are proved to be more or less 
petroliferous by the seepages that occur on their outcrops and by the 
actual dissemination of bituminous matter through certain of the 
beds. There are, however, no wells that penetrate the formation, and 
its possibilities are as yet unknown." At the base of the Sespe forma¬ 
tion there is a layer of white sandstone which, in the gorge of Sespe 
Creek, has been found to yield an excellent supply of low-gravity 
petroleum. The well of the Union Consolidated Oil Company pene¬ 
trates the strata in this vicinity to a depth of approximately 500 or 600 
feet. The position of this well, on the regular slope of the main Topa¬ 
topa anticline, is of especial importance from the clew it may afford as 
to the occurrence of oil at this horizon under like conditions in other 
localities. 

A second feature of importance is the Cold water anticline. The 
strata on the northern face of this arch are productive, the oil being 
derived from about the same horizon as that of the well just men¬ 
tioned, miles to the northwest. The longitudinal extent of this 
anticline in an easterly direction was not determined by the writer, 
but in Boulder Creek, a little more than a mile to the east, a some¬ 
what similar fold appears nearly in the line of the Coldwater flexure. 
It may be, however, but an offset of the latter or a mere crumple on its 
flanks. It is indicated in the section and is the locus of the Ivers 
wells. Although conspicuous in the field, when plotted it is of com¬ 
parative insignificance. The oil found at this point may have no rela¬ 
tion to the minor fold, but, on the other hand, the fractures resulting 
from such a fold may have afforded a special opportunity for the accu¬ 
mulation of the petroleum. 

One of the few occurrences of oil observed in California near the 
axis of a syncline is that seen at the Kentuck wells, which are 
located in a hollow of the Sespe red beds half a mile north of Little 
Sespe Canyon. The most plausible explanation of this exceptional 
occurrence is that it is due to the effects of the Coldwater anticline, or 
possibly even of the greater Topatopa anticline, the negative effects 
of the local syncline being insufficient to overcome the influence of the 
greater folds. 

A short distance south of this depression the red sandstone of the 
Sespe formation dips steeply near the point where the axes of the folds 
exhibit a general change in strike from northeast to southeast. The 
locality is one of marked crushing and its structure is most difficult to 
decipher. The offset of a mile in the section was made here, the 
strata being again taken up in regular succession in the vicinity of the 


34 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Foot-of-the-Hill wells. From this locality to the top of Brush Moun¬ 
tain the series of rocks from the upper members of the red sandstones 
of the Sespe through the rusty beds at their summit and the great 
mass of shale that makes up the Vaqueros formation is unbroken. 
Three oil-bearing horizons have been found within this range—one 
either at the summit of the red beds or the base of the rusty member 
of the Sespe; another perhaps in the purple clay of the Vaqueros 
formation, and a third in the upper, earthy, and siliceous portion of 
the Vaqueros, not far below the Modelo sandstone. The wells are to 
be regarded as located on the slope of the general Topatopa anticline, 
for a careful examination of the locality reveals only minor and very 
insignificant crumples in the general sweep of the beds in an easterly, 
northeasterly, and northerly curve about the axis of the main fold. 

Brush Mountain is capped by the lower Modelo sandstone and a 
thin band of the overlying siliceous shale. The second offset in the 
general section occurs at this point. On Piru Peak very nearly the 
same formations are encountered, the only difference being a some¬ 
what greater amount of the siliceous shale at the top of the series. 
The lower Modelo sandstone outcrops immediately beneath the shale 
and at the head of Modelo Canyon is affected by the Modelo anticline, 
which is one of the most conspicuous and perfect folds of this charac¬ 
ter to be found anywhere in the region under discussion. The sand¬ 
stone here, however, appears to be at least several hundred feet thick— 
thicker, indeed, than on Brush Mountain, and yet by no means so 
extensively developed as about the head of Pfopper Canyon, farther 
north. The succession of strata on the two sides of the anticline 
varies somewhat, but this is perhaps due to crumpling and faulting. 
The presence of a fault is indicated by the abnormal succession of beds 
encountered in crossing the outcrop of the formation. It is probable 
that at the line of this section the opposing beds for some distance 
from the surface belong to the shale between the upper and lower 
Modelo sandstones, but the exact amount of throw is indeterminable, 
first, because of the uniformity of the shale in appearance; second, 
because of the rapid variation in the thickness of the strata, and third, 
because of the crushing that has taken place adjacent to the fracture. 

The Modelo anticline is one of the most productive folds north of the 
Santa Clara Valley. About midway of the folds are the wells of the 
Modelo Oil Company, attaining a maximum depth of about 1,800 feet, 
with oil at 1,400 or 1,500 feet and indications of oil at still greater 
depths below the surface. The wells are wholly in the Modelo sand¬ 
stone, which in places is so free from shale and so solid as to stand 
without casing. The wells are drilled in strata that dip 60° or more 
on both sides of the anticline, at distances varying from less than 100 
feet to 600 or 700 feet on each side of the axis. The wells of the Sun¬ 
set Oil Company in Hopper Canyon, 1J miles to the west, are also on 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : STRUCTURE. 


35 


this fold. They have produced some oil, but have not been operated 
with the same care as the wells of the Modelo Oil Company, and as a 
consequence much water occurs with the oil. 

The Nigger anticline lies a mile and a quarter south of the Modelo 
fold, being separated from it by a syncline and the fault already 
described. The strata involved are the upper Modelo sandstone and 
the shales above and below. The productive wells on this anticline 
are in the easterly tributary of Nigger Canyon, a little south of the axis 
of the fold. They are 500 or 600 feet deep, the oil having b sen encoun¬ 
tered at depths of 65 to 400 feet. 

Half a mile south of the Nigger anticline is a sharp change in the 
rocks which represents the contact between the Modelo and the Fer¬ 
nando formations. The younger beds have a northerly dip, which 
represents either an overturn at the plane of unconformity or a fault— 
perhaps both. That an unconformity exists between the Fernando 
formation and the underlying beds is beyond doubt, and many strata 
are brought successively into contact on either side of the plane. From 
the point of the ridge separating Nigger Canyon from Piru Creek east¬ 
ward for several miles beyond this stream there is a marked line of 
disturbance. A synclinal structure has been suspected, but careful 
examination indicates that this supposition may have been induced 
by the deceptive relations of the dips; in reality there is probably an 
anticline, with a very steeply inclined southern limb, which west of 
Piru Creek has possibly been the locus of a fault. At this point in the 
section, therefore, there may be a fault in proximity to a line of uncon¬ 
formity, much after the order of the unconformity and fault passing 
along the southern border of the Puente Hills from the region of the 
Santa Fe wells westward to Whittier. (Seep. 111.) Doubtless the 
dip of the Fernando strata changes from northerly to southerly 
beneath the valley of the Santa Clara, but exposures along the bottom 
lands are wanting, and the relation of the formations north of the 
river to those south of it can only be conjectured. 

REGION SOUTH OF THE SANTA CLARA. 

The mountains bordering the Santa Clara Valley on the south 
represent the west end of one of the most important uplifts of southern 
California. The center of uplift, the San Gabriel Range, consists of 
granites and related rocks. Encircling these on the west are sedi¬ 
mentary beds of Tertiary age, which constitute, in the order named 
from east to west, the lower elevations of the Santa Susana Moun¬ 
tains, Oak Ridge, and South Mountain. The structure of this sys¬ 
tem of ridges is anticlinal and notwithstanding a degree of continuity 
between the formations north and south of the upper portion of the 
Santa Clara Valley the mountains south of the river preserve, on the 
whole, remarkable independence of structure. In the western half of 


36 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


the system the structure is comparatively simple, consisting of a 
main anticlinal fold affected by a few subordinate wrinkles. In the 
eastern portion, however, although the effect of the uplift has been 
the production of a single range crest, there are, nevertheless, three 
distinct folds of a more or less secondary nature, arranged en echelon 
and slightly diagonal in trend to the course assumed by the general 
ridge system. These folds may be designated the Torrey, Tapo, and 
Pico. A fourth, en echelon with the others and known as the Els- 
mere, is in reality the western terminus of the San Gabriel uplift 
itself. Although secondary to the dominant structure these folds 
are well developed and are of especial importance in that they have 
become the loci of several very productive oil fields. There are 
numerous minor crumples and, along the southeastern crest of Oak 
Ridge and the southwestern face of the Santa Susana Mountains, at 
least one fault of considerable throw. 

OIL FIELDS NORTH OF THE SANTA CLARA. 

The oil fields north of Santa Clara River involve an area having an 
east-west length of 35 miles and a width of 7 to 15 miles. For con¬ 
venience of discussion, this area may be divided into the Ojai Valley, 
Sulphur Mountain, Si) ^er Thread or Sisar Creek, Santa Paula Ridge, 
Sespe, Pole Canyon, and Hopper-Pirn fields. (See PI. V.) 

OJAI VALLEY FIELDS. 

LOCATION. 

The Ojai Valley fields comprise the region of the upper and lower 
valleys, lying between the Topatopa Range on the north and Sul¬ 
phur Mountain on the south. Nordhoff, the only town within the 
district, lies about 15 miles north of Ventura, with which it is con¬ 
nected by a spur track of the Southern Pacific Company, and 12 
miles northwest of Santa Paula. 

STRUCTURE. 

PI. Ill, sec. A-A' indicates in a very general manner the structural 
relations of the several formations exposed in this valley. The 
series of beds north of the Lower Ojai Valley is a part of the great 
overturned south flank of the anticline developed in the Topatopa 
Range. The overturning was accompanied by faulting. The delin¬ 
eation of the faults on the map (PI. I) is highly generalized from the 
evidence afforded by soil coloring and isolated outcrops. They will 
be described in the order of their occurrence from north to south. 

The succession of beds from the base of the Topatopa Range, or 
across Lower Ojai Valley, is perhaps without break. If so, there is an 
upper and a lower series of rusty beds separated by a broad belt, 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


BULLETIN NO.^09 PL.V 



Oil wells producing Oil wells not pumping 

or drilling 




Canyon wells 


£P n ?P'l©d from U S.Geological Survey and California State 
Mining Bureau maps by W LWalker and Ralph Arnold 


A HOEN8 C0..8ALT/MORE. MD 


TOWNSHIP AND SECTION MAP OF THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY AND ADJACENT OIL FIELDS, CALIFORNIA 


Oil well locations largely from original data, a small number however 
from California State Mining Bureau publications 


Scale 

2 3 


5 miles 


1906 













































































































































































































































































































































































SANTA CLARA VALLEY : OJAI VALLEY FIELDS. 


37 


between 1,000 and 2,000 feet thick, of red and white sandstones which 
seem to belong to the Sespe formation. Between the southerly belt 
of rusty beds, which are regarded as Yaqueros, and the Modelo shale, 
which constitutes Thompson Ridge, there is unquestionably a fault 
the throw of which can hardly be less than 2,000 feet. The Thompson 
Ridge fracture is more directly in line with the San Cayetano fault to 
the east than any of its associates and it may be responsible for the 
existence of both the Upper and Lower Ojai valleys. To the east it 
passes immediately south of the wells of the Bard and adjacent oil 
companies. Between the Lower Ojai Valley and Santa Paula Canyon 
the thickness of the red beds is greatly reduced, and to the south the 
rusty beds may almost entirely disappear, for in the Silver Thread dis¬ 
trict the outcrop of these two strata is less than 300 feet thick. From 
the trend of the formations north of the Lower Ojai and from litho¬ 
logic similarities, it is inferred that the great development of rusty 
beds north of the Bard and Capital Crude wells is continuous with 
those of the Topatopa formation in the lower slopes of the Topatopa 
Range to the west. At this point these beds have furnished a fair 
collection of fossils, which are regarded as Eocene. In this connection 
it is worthy of notice that at the head of the Lower Ojai Valley the 
rusty beds south of the red beds carry fossils that were, with equal 
certainty, determined as lower Miocene. 

The Modelo shale, forming Thompson Ridge, is severely crumpled 
and is probably an included fragment of siliceous shale. It disap¬ 
pears beneath the wash of the Lower Ojai Valley and has every evi¬ 
dence of wedging out a little west of the Silver Thread district. - 

South of this interfault block of Modelo there is a narrow band of 
rusty beds, which also wedge out to the east. These beds have every 
appearance of the Yaqueros formation and carry the same fossils as 
those north of the Modelo block. They border Thompson Ridge on 
the south and pass at once into the Lower Ojai Valley, where they 
disappear beneath the later wash. This block of rusty beds presents 
a variety of dips and strikes, and it is thought, therefore, to be sim¬ 
ply an inclined fragment between the great faults of the region. The 
fracture separating it from the red beds bordering it on the south is 
recognized as passing the valley road at the head of the gorge between 
the Lower and Upper Ojai basins to the west, following the line of a 
short gulch to its junction with the general valley. It is probable 
that in this direction it has been the northern determinant of Lion 
Ridge. To the east the fault seems to pass in a direction about S. 
80° E., merging finally with one or another of the greater fractures 

of the system. 

It is interesting, also, to note the occurrence of a narrow strip of 
rusty beds included in the Modelo shale in the easterly portion of the 
crest of Thompson Ridge. 


Bull. 309 -07 ——4 



38 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The red beds of the Sespe formation again become prominent in 
Lion Hill, which lies between the Lower Ojai and Lion Canyon to the 
south. This ridge is an anticline, the trend of its axis curving slightly 
from N. 87° W. at the west end to N. 70° E. at the east. The crown 
of the arch is but gently bowed. The flanks, however, show steeply 
inclined strata. Locally, a slight synclinal flexure appears. To the 
north the red beds pass beneath the wash of the Lower Ojai Valley; 
to the south they are succeeded by the Modelo shale of Sulphur Moun¬ 
tain, the line of division being practically coincident with the stream 
channel in Lion Canyon. 

The Sespe formation of Lion Hill is doubtless another interfault 
block, more than ordinarily prominent, in the series that occupies the 
Ojai Valley. The apex of this block probably terminates within a 
mile of the Silver Thread district, the small body of red beds appear¬ 
ing in the latter region belonging to the greater mass of similar beds 
lying on the north side of the Ojai Valley. The Sespe formation in the 
block under discussion widens and becomes an important formation 
in the western portion of the Lower Ojai west of San Antonio Creek 
and Ventura River. On the north the red beds are in contact with 
the rusty beds in the minor interfault block already described, and, 
to the east of this block, with the projecting portion of the included 
fragment of the Modelo formation. On the south they are in contact 
with the Modelo shale throughout its whole length to San Antonio 
Creek. The minor interfault block of the Modelo in Thompson Ridge 
being disregarded, this Sespe block would appear to have been pushed 
up with reference to the formations north and south of it, particu¬ 
larly those on the north. 

Along Lion Canyon and the south edge of the Upper Ojai Valley 
is another of the greater faults of the district. Like the others, 
however, it terminates near the common center in the vicinity of 
Santa Paula Canyon. Farther west it is probably of considerable 
extent, having been recognized, it is thought, at the canyon of Ven¬ 
tura River several miles below Nordlioff. In any event there is the 
same succession here that is encountered in the Ojai Valley. 

Sulphur Mountain from one end to the other is composed of the 
Modelo shale, the strike of which corresponds with the trend of the 
ridge about N. 80° E. The dip is generally to the south. There are, 
however, local crumples of different degrees of importance, as, for in¬ 
stance, a possible anticline, indicated on the map (PL I) as passing along 
the lower slope of the mountain, and a second, the axis of which passes 
a little south of the well of the Langdell, Newmark & Roan Oil Com¬ 
pany, a few hundred feet below the summit. Also, it is possible that 
faulting, as well as folding, has taken place within the confines of the 
mountain. Such folds and faults may be accountable for the lines 
of petroleum seepages on both the north and south sides of the ridge. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: OJAI VALLEY FIELDS. 


39 


Sulphur Mountain itself is perhaps an interfault block, a possible frac¬ 
ture existing at the line of contact of the Modelo and Fernando for¬ 
mations south of the ridge, although the succession maybe merely one 
of unconformity. The writer is inclined, however, to the view that 
a fault is present. The linear extent of the folds in Sulphur Mountain 
has not been determined. The east end of Sulphur Mountain presents 
a syncline at its crest, an anticline at its northern base coincident with 
the lower portion of Sisar Creek, and another anticline south of the 
mountain in the vicinity of the Adams Canyon oil wells. 

There is an anticline south of the western portion of Sulphur Moun¬ 
tain showing in the road which descends from the summit to the upper 
part of the Canada Larga. In the line of this anticline is a like fold 
at Ventura River, and it is possible that the two are continuous. 
Although the rocks involved in this fold belong mainly to the Modelo 
formation, gray and brown argillaceous shales and heavy sandstone, 
probably of the Fernando formation, lie immediately upon its south- 

may have become affected. 


ern flanks and locally 


OIL WELLS. 

The oil wells in the Ojai fields comprise those of the Union Oil Com¬ 
pany on the Pirie ranch, at the west end of Lion Hill; two in Lion Can¬ 
yon, about \\ miles southeast of the Pirie wells; a couple drilled by 
Langdell, Newmark & Roan near the summit on the north slope of 
Sulphur Mountain, and a group along the northeastern side of the 
Upper Ojai, sunk by the Whidden-Double, Sobra Vista, and Santa . 
Paula oil companies. 

PIRIE RANCH WELLS. 

Two groups of wells belonging to the Union Oil Company are located 
on the Pirie ranch south and southeast of Nordhoff, in the Lower Ojai 
Valley. The first group, consisting of three wells, is about a mile S. 
25° E. of the town, on the west end of Lion Hill; the second group lies 
across a small valley, about three-fourths of a mile S. 70° W. of the 
first. All the wells penetrate the red beds of the Sespe formation, 
those of the first group being about 100 feet south of the axis of the 
Lion Hill anticline, and those of the second on the south limb of the 
same anticline, at least three-eighths of a mile south of its axis. At the 
time of the writer’s visit the wells were abandoned and only one der¬ 
rick was standing. It was learned, however, that black oil accom¬ 
panied by considerable quantities of gas was struck in the wells of the 
first group, and that for a time they were pumped. Gas was heard 
rumbling in one of the holes and another contained water. No seep¬ 
ages were noticed in the locality of the wells. 

Five wells constitute the second group, four close together and a 
fifth about one-fourth mile to the southwest. The deepest of the four 


40 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


is about 1,500 feet deep. A little oil was encountered at 30 feet and 
some also at about 400 feet; for a time considerable oil and water, 
mostly the latter, were pumped. In another well thick oil was struck 
at 100 feet and a lighter oil at 333 feet, thus indicating at least two 
oil-bearing strata for this locality. Much water was found in the 
westernmost well and it was abandoned before reaching the oil sands. 

LION CANYON WELLS. 

Two wells, now abandoned, were sunk in Lion Canyon about 2| 
miles southeast of Nordhoff. They are situated in the brown shale of 
the Modelo formation, not far south of the fault separating the shale 
from the Sespe red beds of Lion Hill. The wells lie in line with 
what to the east is a faulted overturn, but which here may be only a 
simple anticline. Heavy oil stands in the eastern well at a depth of 
about 200 feet, while a lighter emulsion of oil and water rises to about 
the same level in the western well. Some of the oil which had been 
bailed out and was standing in a barrel had a gravity of about 16° B. 
It was black and ran cpiite freely, though stringing some. 

LANGDELL, NEWMARK & ROAN WELLS. 

The two abandoned wells of this company are located on the north 
slope of Sulphur Mountain, only a short distance below its crest and just 
west of the road leading up from the Upper Ojai Valley. The holes 
are sunk a little north of the anticlinal axis, which passes immediately 
north of the summit of the mountain, and penetrate the brown and 
gray shales of the Modelo formation. The higher well is located at the 
upper edge of a prominent oil seepage; it is said that a little light oil was 
struck at about 800 feet and that the well was abandoned in a white 
clayey shale at 1,000 feet. The lower well was sunk right in the seep¬ 
age, but yielded nothing. The natural seepage of oil at the wells is 
claimed to be about a barrel a day. 

WHIDDEN-DOUBLE WELLS. 

The five wells of the Whidden-Double Oil Company are located in 
the Modelo shale fault block on the northern side of the head of the 
Upper Oj ai Valley. The surface outcrops here show a slight northerly 
dip, while the well logs indicate a much steeper dip to the northeast for 
the oil sand. The structural relations in the vicinity are somewhat 
complex, but it seems likely that the wells are situated on the 
north flank of an anticline more or less complicated by minor folds. 
It is reported that the holes vary in depth from 132 to about 950 feet 
and that they yield oil of 8° to 15° gravity. The petroleum is black 
and in two of the wells is associated with more or less water. The 
deepest well is said to penetrate two sands, the lower of the two 
yielding the lighter oil. An interesting fact is that No. 3, one of the 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: OJAI VALLEY FIELDS. 


41 


shallower wells, although having a greater initial production than No. 
5, which was deeper, did not hold out nearly so well. The yield of the 
wells was never very great and they were finally abandoned in 1904. 

SOBRA VISTA WELLS. 

The Sobra Vista wells, three in number, are located at the head of 
the Upper Ojai Valley, immediately south of the Whidden-Double 
property. As indicated by the structure in the immediate vicinity, 
the wells are probably located on the north flank of the local anticline 
which is so well developed in the region of the Santa Paula group of 



Fig. 4.—Sketch map showing location of wells and oil seepages in the northeast corner of the Upper 
Ojai Valley. Heavy black dots, wells abandoned since beginning of 1902 ; the other symbol, wells 
abandoned previous to 1902. 

wells immediately to the west. The strata penetrated are the blue 
and gray shales of the Modelo formation, here containing interbedded 
sands from which, it is said, the wells derive their oil. In fact, the 
southernmost well of the group is located precisely on the line of 
strike of the sandstone which affords the heavy oil seepages on the 
Santa Paula property. The wells range in depth from about 375 to 
740 feet and obtain their oil from two sands about 240 feet apart, the 
upper varying from 10 to 11 feet and the lower from 4 to 11 feet in 
thickness. It is said that an 11-foot stratum of black water sand was 
encountered between the oil sands in one of the wells, and that in 















42 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


another the drill was stopped in a deposit of tar too heavy to pump. 
The best well is reported to have started with a yield of 50 barrels per 
day, but this was reduced to about 13 barrels at the time of the 
writer’s visit (1902), and still later is stated to have fallen off consider¬ 
ably more. The oil is black and heavy and is said to run 48 per cent 
of exceptionally pure (92 per cent) asphaltum. 

SANTA PAULA WELLS. 

Immediately west of the Sobra Vista group, at the head of the 
Upper Ojai Valley, are the two wells of the Santa Paula Oil Company. 
They penetrate the blue shale of the Modelo formation, which is here 
folded into a westward-plunging anticline. The wells derive their oil 
from interbedded sandstones, some of which yield seepages of heavy 
asphaltum. The northern well is farther down the dip and is the 
deeper of the two. It is reported that this yielded lighter oil than the 
southern well and that the latter struck oil similar to that encountered 
in one of the Sobra Vista wells, which was too heavy to pump. 

SOUTHERN SULPHUR MOUNTAIN FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The oil areas that have been developed along the southern base of 
Sulphur Mountain lie at the heads of Aliso, Wheeler, Salt Marsh, and 
Adams canyons and along the short gulch heading against Adams 
Canyon from the Santa Paula A 7 alley. All are a short distance south 
of the northern boundary of what once constituted the San Buena¬ 
ventura Mission. The general elevation of these areas is about 1,100 
feet, Sulphur Mountain rising abruptly above to heights between 
2,500 and 2,750 feet. The canyons are of easy grade and the inter¬ 
vening ridges are comparatively low. 

GEOLOGY. 

Two and perhaps three formations are involved in this field— 
Modelo shales; Fernando conglomerate, sandstone, and clay; and 
possibly certain remnants of the Pleistocene, consisting of coarse 
gravel and gritty sand. 

The Modelo is confined to Sulphur Mountain and consists of blue 
and brown, finely laminated shale, which is either earthy or siliceous, 
here and there even slightly sandy, and thin beds of sandstone. The 
shale is the conspicuous feature, however, and is of the type variety. 
It carries the customary gray to yellow limestone concretions, which 
with the shale show an abundance of organic remains, foraminifera 
and fish integuments and their impressions. The browner variety of 
the shale is gypsiferous and carbonaceous. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : SOUTHERN SULPHUR MOUNTAIN. 43 

Adjacent to the line of division between this shale and the suc¬ 
ceeding formation there is in places a body of earthy shale, the general 
color of which is brown and through which are threaded thin-bedded 
sandstones from a few inches to a few feet in thickness. All in all, 
this shale somewhat resembles others of doubtful age that are encoun¬ 
tered in the oil fields of the Santa Susana Mountains and is not unlike 
certain beds that underlie the more siliceous shale of the Modelo for¬ 
mation in the region of Hopper Canyon. The question regarding the 
beds referred to in the Santa Susana Mountains is whether the shale 
actually belongs to the Modelo or to a younger formation, although 
perhaps still of Miocene age. The same uncertainty holds for the 
shale of the Sulphur Mountain localities until detailed work shall have 
determined its proper reference. A possible characteristic that may 
prove to be of value in distinguishing this shale from those of the 
Modelo, the more finely laminated beds of which are of a like brown 
color, is the mud-like texture and consistency of the younger shales. 
The younger clays are, moreover, decidedly arenaceous, and are also 
commonly associated with sandstones. 

The formation regarded as Fernando forms the mass of the hills 
between Santa Clara River and Sulphur Mountain, except, perhaps, a 
Pleistocene fringe along the immediate valley. Some of the lower 
sands are bituminous, this characteristic appearing to become more 
conspicuous as Sulphur Mountain is approached. The clays associ¬ 
ated with the lower sands are brown or blue. The conglomerates of 
this series include pebbles of sandstone, quartz, granite, black chert, 
and siliceous shale, the last evidently derived from the Modelo and 
probably from Sulphur Mountain itself. The succession of beds here 
described is encountered also, though with some variation, in the 
Santa Paula Valley and in the several canyons to the west of Adams 
Canyon. 

By reason of the uncertainty regarding the age of the brown shale 
referred to above it is evident that the line between the Fernando 
and the Modelo formation is indefinite. It is worthy of note in passing 
that there is a considerable difference in the gravity of the oils derived 
from the Modelo shales and the Fernando sands and gravels in this 
field, that from the Modelo being much the lighter. 

Deposits of sand and coarse gravel occurring in the lower portion 
of Adams Canyon are doubtfully referred to the Pleistocene series. 
These have the appearance of being an outlier of the more prominent 
body of like sediments east of the San^a Paula Valley. The deposits 
have, however, received but passing attention and have little or no 
bearing on the geology of the Sulphur Mountain oil district. 


44 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


STRUCTURE. 

Secs. A-A' and B-B', PI. Ill, show the probable structural relations 
of the different formations in the Sulphur Mountain region. The 
relation between the Modelo shale and the succeeding formation along 
the southern base of Sulphur Mountain is primarily that of uncon¬ 
formity, but faults are here and there suggested by the sharp contrast 
of the beds in contact and by the flexures that have particularly 
affected the strata in proximity to the line of the suspected fracture. 
The fault, if it exists, is in harmony with the other structural features 
of the region and is supplemental to those farther north already 
described. It is the southernmost component of the system radiating 
from the San Cayetano fracture a mile or two east of the Santa Paula 
Valley. In each of the canyons in the southern face of Sulphur 
Mountain evidences of the fracture are more or less distinct. 

Of the flexures in the area under discussion the sharpest occur in 
the interfault block of the Modelo shale. The most conspicuous one 
occurs halfway up the face of Sulphur Mountain. It consists of a 
zone of severely crushed strata 100 to 200 feet broad. 

A short distance south of the suspected fault, in the younger for¬ 
mation of clay, sandstone, and conglomerate that is possibly the 
Fernando, there may be here and there detected an anticlinal fold, its 
axis having the general strike of the formation, varying from N. 65° E. 
at the eastern terminus of the mountain to N. 80° E. farther west. 
The southern limb of the anticline extends beneath the foothills to 
the Santa Clara Valley, the dip varying from 45° to 80°, but usually 
approaching the lesser angle. The northern limb is steep, short, and 
truncated by the plane of the fault. This structure appears in several 
of the canyons and hill areas, but its continuity from point to point 
has not been established. Instead of an anticline it may be, perhaps, 
but a bending downward of the strata, a crumpling of the beds due to 
compression adjacent to the fracture. In Adams and Wheeler can¬ 
yons the anticlinal feature is somewhat stronger, while in Aliso Canyon 
general crumpling seems to prevail. Farther west, however, in the 
region of Harmon Canyon, the anticline again appears; the northern 
limb is still short and terminates in a sharp reverse flexure, or perhaps 
at the fault, which marks the junction of a series of table-like benches 
with the main body of the mountain. The entire region north of 
this fault to the Topatopa Range is a succession of displaced blocks, 
crumpled in the manner just described. From the axis of this dis¬ 
turbance southward to the Santa Clara Valley the strata maintain 
their southerly dip with marked persistency, at most varying only by 
minor and localized flexures. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : SOUTHERN SULPHUR MOUNTAIN. 45 


OIL WELLS. 

The line of the suspected fault along the south side of Sulphur 
Mountain is marked in the several canyons by many strong seepages 
of petroleum, and in proximity to the fracture, in the northward dip¬ 
ping or more severely crumpled strata of the Fernando formation, 
most if not all of the wells of this general field are drilled. Those 
yielding the lighter oil, however, may penetrate to minor sands in the 
Modelo, or they may be peculiar to the brown shale of uncertain 
though perhaps Modelo age (p. 19). The heavier oil without doubt 
occurs in the Fernando formation. 

The wells in the field under discussion have been drilled at the heads 
of Aliso, Wheeler, Salt Marsh, and Adams canyons and along the bot¬ 
tom of a short gulch east of Adams Canyon. But little new develop¬ 
ment was under way at the time of the investigation and it was diffi¬ 
cult to obtain data relating to the occurrence of the petroleum. Fur¬ 
thermore, many of the wells were old and were abandoned, while the 
product of others was reduced to only 1 or 2 barrels a day. The initial 
flow of some of the wells appears to have been as high as 25 or even 
50 barrels. The depth as a rule ranges between 150 and 500 feet, but 
here and there 1,800 or 2,000 feet is said to have been attained. An 
early mode of recovering the oil was by tunnels, many of which pene¬ 
trate the shale of Sulphur Mountain. From these a small amount of 
oil still seeps, although several barrels a day have been obtained. 

Two varieties of oil occur in this field—one black, with a gravity of 
19° to 30° B.; the other green, with a gravity of 30° to 32° B. The 
lighter oil, as already stated, is believed to be associated with the 
shale doubtfully assigned to the Modelo formation. It occurs nearer 
the base of the mountain than the black and heavy oil. The com¬ 
paratively shallow depth of certain of the wells yielding green oil and 
their location well up on the slopes of Sulphur Mountain suggest the 
possibility that the productive beds outcrop in the base of the moun¬ 
tain. None of the strata, however, so far as the writer could learn, 
showed any indication of containing petroleum. 

The duration or life of the wells varies. Two years seems to be 
the maximum for the larger yields, but beyond this time the product 
dwindles to 1 or 2 barrels a day and then remains constant for an 
indefinite time. This constancy, coupled with the inexpensiveness of 
pumping, accounts for their still remaining in service. The earliest 
drilling reported in this field was done by Mr. Adams twenty-five 
years ago in Adams Canyon. This well and another in proximity, 
put down by the Union Oil Company, afforded a light oil, and a similar 
product was obtained by wells in Salt Marsh Canyon. Periodic 
attempts have been made to develop the source from which this sup¬ 
ply was derived, but without success. Opinions differ as to the rela¬ 
tions of the light oil to the Modelo shale. It is possible that this oil 


46 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


is derived from the strata adjacent to the shallow wells (about 200 
feet deep) which are probably in the Modelo shale; but on the other 
hand, the beds are severely crushed and the oil may be derived from 
a considerable depth, rising through fissures in the shale. Of the 
wells in Salt Marsh Canyon, one yielding green oil is said to have pro¬ 
duced an average of 60 barrels a day after the head had been pumped 
off. It is said also that in the Salt Marsh wells the horizon affording 
green oil is first struck, the black variety being 100 or 200 feet lower 
down. In Wheeler Canyon the conditions are reversed, the top oil 
having a gravity of 28° B. and the lower, 400 or 500 feet below, of 30° B. 

The dip of the strata in the several productive areas of this field 
varies from 45° to 80° N. South of the axis of folding and crumpling— 
south of the productive line, therefore—the dip is usually less than 
45° S., although here and there 80° may be attained. 

SILVER THREAD OR SISAR CREEK FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The Silver Thread field is developed on the high ground immedi¬ 
ately north of Sisar Creek, near its confluence with Santa Paula Creek, 
directly opposite the productive territory east of the latter stream. 
PI. VI, B , shows its position in relation to the surrounding country. 

STRUCTURE. 

The field is included within the area of the great fault system extend¬ 
ing from San Cayetano Mountain to the Ojai, and is therefore in struc¬ 
tural relationship with the producing fields both west and east of it. 
It lies within a short distance of the point of convergence of the sev¬ 
eral faults that form so conspicuous a feature in the geology of this, 
region. PI. Ill, sec. B-B', indicates the probable relations existing 
along this line through the field. The productive area lies in prox¬ 
imity to what is perhaps the principal fault of the Ojai system, which 
here passes along the steep slopes that form the northern walls of 
lower Sisar Canyon. The extent of the development is about a mile 
in length by 400 or 500 feet in width, the direction assumed by the 
wells being approximately S. 71° 45' E., or about the trend of the line 
between the properties of the Bard Oil and Asphalt Company on the 
south and certain others on the north. The collars of the wells are 
but a short distance below the brow of the mesa that extends back to 
the main mass of the mountains on the north, being about 1,500 feet 
above sea level, or 500 feet above the bed of Santa Paula Canyon. 

Only two or three formations outcrop in the Silver Thread field. 
The oldest of these, which occupies the northern portion of the belt, 
represents the upper part of the Topatopa and consists of a series of 
rusty conglomerate, sandstone, and shale, with interbedded quartz- 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. VI 



A. FLANKS OF OAK RIDGE AND SANTA SUSANNA MOUNTAINS, SHOWING POST-PLIOCENE 

PENEPLAIN. 

From mouth of Sulphur Canyon; looking oast. 



B. THE UPPER OJAI VALLEY. 

From crest of Sulphur Mountain, Ventura County 


















> 






■ 




































SANTA CLARA VALLEY : SILVER THREAD FIELD. 


47 


ose limestones, which carry fossils that have been determined to be 
Eocene. These rusty beds are a part of the overturned south hank 
ol the great anticline to the north, and pass directly beneath the 
great body of older Topatopa quartzite and shale that occupies the 
very heart of the range. 

The red beds, probably belonging to the Sespe formation, are exposed 
in a narrow belt little more than 100 yards wide, along the upper por¬ 
tion of the face of. the ridge north of Sisar Canyon. They outcrop 
south of the rusty beds, passing beneath them, however, with a north¬ 
erly dip, as part of the overturned series. They consist of coarse 
sandstone, streaked red and white, and shale colored in like manner, 
as in the Sespe region. In the Silver Thread field, as well as in the 
Ojai Valley, there is, stratigraphically below the red beds, a con¬ 
spicuous layer of white sandstone from 20 to 30 feet thick, which is 
locally bituminous and carries small lenticular bodies of green and 
purplish clay. Stratigraphically above the red beds in the Ojai 
Valley are rusty beds, but these are not exposed in the Silver Thread 
region. 

South of the red beds is the Modelo shale, occupying the slopes of 
Sisar Canyon and Sulphur Mountain. The formation here has the 
typical appearance, consisting of earthy to siliceous shale, brown, 
gray, and white in color, more or less organic, impregnated with gyp¬ 
sum, sulphur, and bitumen, and carrying lenses of limestone that 
weather a bright yellow. This shale is thrust down against the forma¬ 
tions already described by a displacement, which may be called the 
Silver Thread fault. This is probably the principal westerly branch 
of the San Cayetano break and may be the continuation of the principal 
fault of the Ojai Valley. If this connection is correct, the displace¬ 
ment amounts probably to several thousand feet. Immediately south 
of the fracture the beds are folded into an anticline, the axis of which is 
coincident with the lower part of Sisar Canyon. In Sulphur Mountain 
they lie in a syncline, the axis being coincident with the crest of the 
mountain. A little- farther south there is a second anticline, beyond 
which, with the exception of minor flexures, the southerly dip of the 
strata is maintained to the valley of Santa Clara River. 

In the bluffs of Santa Paula Canyon, at the base of the oil-yielding 
hills, there is immediately north of the anticlinal axis an outcrop of 
200 or 300 feet of earthy, micaceo-quartzitic shale, chalky in color 
and bearing yellow to gray limestone concretions and thin beds of 
sandstone. This shale resembles the chalky Modelo shale in Hopper 
Canyon and is probably its equivalent. Immediately south of the 
anticlinal axis, at the mouth of Sisar Creek, the more siliceous shale 
sets in. It is possible, therefore, that some faulting has taken place 
along- the crest of the fold, so that the series is not the same on both 
sides. On the other hand, it may be that the appearance of the shale 


48 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

of northerly dip has been altered by the crushing that it has under¬ 
gone in proximity to the fault. 

The Modelo shale of Sulphur Mountain and the valleys north and 
south is continued east of Santa Paula Canyon in the foothills of the 
Santa Paula Ridge and San Cayetano Mountain; finally, by the con¬ 
vergence of faults, wedging out between the Fernando sediments of 
the foothills and the Topatopa formation of the mountain. 

The general strike of the formations north of the Modelo is N. 65° 
W., the dip being 40°-70° N. Adjacent to the Silver Thread fault line 
the Modelo also strikes N. 65° W. parallel with the break, but along 
Sisar Creek the direction changes to nearly east and west, while south 
of Sulphur Mountain it is N. 60°-70° E. Immediately south of the 
main fracture the shale of this formation dips to the north, toward the 
plane of displacement, the axis of the adjacent anticline lying perhaps 
200 or 300 yards farther south. 

Although the prevailing dip near the Silver Thread fault is north¬ 
ward, the strata, nevertheless, present more or less irregularity of 
occurrence, the appearance suggesting a fragmental condition of the 
formations. This may readily be the case along a fracture of such 
proportions, the amount of displacement being hardly less than 5,000 
or 6,000 feet. 

OIL WELLS. 

The oil wells of this district all lie immediately north of the Silver 
Thread fault, which separates the Modelo shale and the Sespe red 
beds. They pierce the red beds, and a few wells in their upper por¬ 
tions pass through the more southerly members of the older but over- 
lying rusty beds that carry Eocene fossils. None of the wells is distant 
more than 200 or 300 feet from the plane of fracture, while one or two 
are especially close to it, appearing, indeed, to have been sunk in 
crushed rock of the Modelo formation; however, in view of the uncer¬ 
tainty as to the dip of the fault plane it may be that they pass at slight 
depth from the fragmental Modelo into the more solid strata of the 
older formations north of the fault. 

The maximum depth attained is a little over 1,000 feet. The wells 
are all small, 12 barrels per day being the largest individual yield at 
the present time. The gravity of the oil varies somewhat from well to 
well, but the average is approximately 19° B. The color of the oil is 
green. The only flowing wells are those of the Ojai Company, which 
lie west of the others, with their collars at a considerably lower eleva¬ 
tion; they are also very shallow and are, moreover, located directly 
in the line of seepage of the region. 








U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. VII 




B. ELSMERE RIDGE AND OIL WELLS, NEAR NEWHALL, LOS ANGELES COUNTY. 


A. SANTA PAULA CANYON, FROM SANTA PAULA VENTURA COUNTY. 


















SANTA CLARA VALLEY: SANTA PAULA RIDGE. 


49 


FIELD SOUTH OF SANTA PAULA RIDGE. 

LOCATION. 

The productive oil territory immediately east of Santa Paula Can¬ 
yon lies at the foot of the steep southern face of San Cayetano Moun¬ 
tain and is the eastward extension of the Ojai, Silver Thread, and 
Sulphur Mountain districts. The general configuration of the dis¬ 
trict is shown in PI. VII, A, a panorama looking north from Santa 
Paula, in which this field appears along the face of San Cayetano 
Mountain on the right The sharply eroded ridges in the middle dis¬ 
tance on the right are composed of the Fernando conglomerate, sand¬ 
stone, and clay. 

GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE. 

The great San Cayetano fault, along which the late Tertiaries are 
in contact with the Topatopa formation, lies at the base of the steeper 
portion of San Cayetano Mountain, at the upper edge of the lofty foot 
slopes, 2,000 feet above sea level. Along this line the oil-producing 
territory has been found, the area of yield widening somewhat with 
the appearance of other members of the fault system, in the direction 
of Santa Paula Creek. In this direction, too, the succession of strata 
and their relations become more and more complex. 

The sediments involved in the productive region east of Santa 
Paula Creek include unmistakable Topatopa beds; a small wedge of 
the rusty Eocene sandstone, shale, and Ostrea-be&rmg limestone from 
the Silver Thread field; shale of the Modelo type, and a succession of 
sandstone, conglomerates, and blue, mud-like arenaceous clays, that 
have already been referred to as probably of Fernando (Pliocene) 
age. These last are the same as those occurring in Adams, Wheeler, 
and Aliso canyons and are also to be seen in strong outcrops crossing 
Santa Paula Creek from 3 miles above the town of Santa Paula to a 
point within a mile of Sisar Creek. The Modelo is identified by the 
siliceous character of its shales and by +heir organic life. As it is, 
however, in a locality in which the rocks are badly crushed and in 
which there is a rapid succession of interfault blocks, it is impossible 
to recognize its relations to adjacent beds. 

A typical section (see PI. Ill, sec. C-C') of the field, directly across 
the strata from a point about 2 miles east of Santa Paula Creek, 
in the vicinity of the Hartford well, is as follows: On the north the 
typical Topatopa, succeeded across a fault plane by a siliceous shale 
typical of the Modelo. South of this is a large body of brown shale 
with limestone lenses, which under ordinary circumstances would be 
regarded as also a part of the Modelo, but which is less siliceous and 


50 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

more earthy than many of the Modelo beds. Still farther south are 
Fernando sandstone and conglomerate, which, with shale and clay, 
extend well out beneath the sloping foothills of the range. The strata 
in the fault zone and adjacent to it on the south have a northerly dip, 
varying from 80° in the sandstone and conglomerate just south of 
Bear Canyon and the well area to 50° in the well areg itself and to 30° 
in the escarpment of Santa Paula Ridge and San Cayatano Mountain. 
The throw of the fault plane separating the Modelo and the Topatopa 
formations amounts, doubtless, to many thousand feet. A second 
fault probably exists in the interval between the Modelo siliceous shale 
and the Fernando sandstone and conglomerate south of Bear Can¬ 
yon and at the head of Mud Gulch, the intervening brown shale, 
which is earthy and stained with bitumen, belonging, in the writer’s 
belief, to the older formation. The strata south of the second fault 
are probably overturned, and only at a depth of 1,000 or 2,000 feet 
assume their regular dip to the south. This fault is probably the 
easterly extension of that existing along the southern base of Sul¬ 
phur Mountain, since its trend and that of the adjacent strata is 
N. 65°-80° E., in conformity with the strikes in the latter region. 
The northern fault is doubtless the extension of the fault passing 
north of Sulphur Mountain, its trend and that of the lines of strati¬ 
fication adjacent being N. 65°-80° W. The extent of throw along 
the southern fault is undetermined and may vary from 500 to 1,500 
feet. These two faults come together about 5 miles east of Santa 
Paula Creek, in the vicinity of the Empire wells, and east of this 
point only a single fracture is present. 

OIL WELLS. 

The wells of this field are confined chiefly to the brown shale and 
range in depth from a few hundred to nearly 2,000 feet. Sandy beds 
undoubtedly occur; but in the main the strata are blue, brown, and 
black shale, with occasional harder layers, known to the drillers as 
“hard shells.’-’ The oil is found in the coarser sediments. The 
Empire wells, in the eastern part of the field, show traces of the Fer¬ 
nando sandstone and conglomerate, from which, doubtless, they draw 
a portion of their oil, the remainder coming from the underlying 
Modelo formation. Some of the wells of this field are reported to 
have started at 200 barrels or more, the yield after a short time falling 
off until it is now between 5 and 20 barrels. The oil is light, its 
gravity being 35° B., and of greenish color, resembling in a measure 
that from the same formation in the Puente Hills. 

The companies operating east of Santa Paula Creek are the O’Hara, 
the Chicago Crude, the Paxton Gold Bond, the Pure, the Hartford, 
the Cuniff, and the Empire. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : SESPE FIELDS. 


51 


SESPE FIELDS. 

LOCATION. 

The Sespe fields include that portion of the territory north of the 
Santa Clara Valley which lies adjacent to Sespe Creek in the lower 
8 or 10 miles of its course, together with the area about Little Sespe, 
Fourfork, Tar, and Bear creeks and Pine and Coldwater canyons—all 
in the Sespe drainage system. 

STRUCTURE. 

In the Sespe district the formations begin to show crumpling, at 
first gentle, then severe, at the northern border of the Camulos quad¬ 
rangle. The axis of the general fold lies just outside the quadrangle, 
while south of the fold is the edge of the broad table of Sespe red beds. 
(See PI. Ill, sec. X-Zb) In the country adjacent to the table of red 
beds on the south lies the axis of the Coldwater anticline, the lowest 
beds exposed being those at the base of the Sespe formation. The 
eastward extension of this anticline is somewhat uncertain, but it 
may prove to be continuous with or closely adj acent to the Ivers anti¬ 
cline, the axis of which is the seat of the Ivers oil wells. Both disap¬ 
pear in the folds at the gorge of Little Sespe Creek. South of the 
Coldwater anticline, confined to the narrow ridge between Coldwater 
and Pine canyons, is a sharply compressed syncline. This is nearly in 
line and may be continuous with the syncline that farther east passes 
through Oat Mountain and becomes one of the principal structural 
features of the region. In Pine Canyon, at the base of the ridge carry¬ 
ing the syncline above mentioned, the Topatopa formation reappears 
from beneath the Sespe beds and with northerly dip constitutes San 
Cayetano Mountain and Santa Paula Peak and the general mountain 
mass of which they are such conspicuous features. The structure of 
this mountain mass is monoclinal, developed, doubtless by faulting, 
from an overturned anticline whose arch could have been but little 
less than that of the main Topatopa fold farther north. The southern 
face of the monocline is a bold escarpment of 2,000 feet, in which the 
strata still show remnants of the arch. The displacement at this 
fault is probably 3,000 or 4,000 feet. 

East of Sespe Creek the more important subordinate folds on the 
flanks of the main flexure include the Oat Mountain syncline, already 
referred to; an anticline that crosses lower Pole Canyon at the sharp 
turn from south to west; and another anticline, a mile farther south, 
that passes into the valley of Sespe Creek immediately below the 
entrance of Pole Canyon. Each of these folds is a conspicuous fea¬ 
ture, but the s}mcline is perhaps the most marked, involving the strata 
from the Modelo to the red beds of the Sespe. In addition to these 


52 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


there are numerous local folds of but little less importance than those 
just mentioned. One or two of these local flexures are accompanied 
by faults, forming highly-crumpled zones. 

The portion of Sespe Canyon lying above its confluence with Little 
Sespe Creek is the seat of marked disturbance. Apparently, there 
has been not only folding in conformity with the general east-west 
trend of the main anticline, but also a transverse buckling of the strata 
along strike lines that probably took place synchronously with the 
development of the principal folds. This buckling resulted in the sharp 
changes observed in the direction of structural lines and rendered 
still more complex the general folds and faults that affect the strata, 
especially in the angle between the main Sespe Creek and its tribu¬ 
tary, Little Sespe Creek, and about the mouth of Sespe Canyon. In 
this region the regularity of the folds described in the preceding para¬ 
graphs has been almost completely destroyed, and the real structure 
is determined with difficulty. 

The valley of Sespe Creek below the canyon is filled with Pleistocene 
deposits that conceal the older formations. East of the stream, in the 
lower slopes of Oat Mountain, there is a suggestion of the structure 
in the presence of Os^a-bearing, rusty sandstone and shale, more or 
less calcareous, that closely resemble the rusty beds at the summit 
of the Sespe formation. These beds have a general N. 15° W. strike 
and an easterly dip. The strike becomes northwesterly toward the 
north, the beds evidently crossing the creek and uniting with those 
in the much-crumpled area immediately within the canyon mouth. 
To the south the rusty beds disappear beneath the overlying members 
of the Vaqueros formation, affording indications of a southerly dip 
beneath the valley. It is possible, however, that at this point there 
is a fault which has carried down the Modelo shale, bringing it into 
contact with the lower members of the Yaqueros formation and, per¬ 
haps, even with the rusty upper beds of the Sespe. 

The strikes and dips here described suggest the east end of an anti¬ 
cline, most of which lies buried beneath the recent deposits of the Sespe 
and Santa Clara valleys. It is possible, too, that the trace of an anti¬ 
clinal axis in the southern escarpment of San Cayetano Mountain, 
already referred to, may be a portion of the same flexure. In this 
case the San Cayetano fault may merge into this anticline on the east 
or it may die out in the much smaller fracture at the south end of Sespe 
Canyon, suggested in the preceding paragraph. 

In the development of the earlier geologic features in the vicinity 
of the present Sespe Canyon there appears to have been formed, at the 
close of the Miocene, a structural bay, which was later filled with 
Pleistocene and, perhaps, Pliocene sediments. The uppermost Fer¬ 
nando or Pleistocene deposits are those which to-day are exposed in 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: SESPE FIELDS. 


53 


this locality. The lower Fernando is not exposed, but its outcrops 
cover considerable areas to the west and isolated areas also appear 
to the east, notably at the point of the foothills immediately east of 
Fillmore and in the vicinity of Pirn. East of Piru the Fernando 
becomes the prevailing formation. 

A stratigraphic feature that has considerable significance in con¬ 
nection with the geologic history of the Sespe region is the disappear¬ 
ance of the lower Modelo sandstone. In the area about the head of 
Hopper Canyon this terrane has an enormous development, its thick¬ 
ness amounting to at least 4,000 or 5,000 feet. Within the Sespe oil 
fields, however, its maximum is barely more than 1,000 feet and it 
disappears entirely in the slopes of Sespe Valley south of Oat Moun¬ 
tain. * At other points within the confines of the oil fields it passes 
beneath the Surface while still strongly developed, and its ultimate 
behavior is of course unknown. 

The range south of Santa Clara River is seemingly a development 
independent of, though perhaps synchronous with, the mountains 
north of the river. There is, however, a degree of geologic relation¬ 
ship shown by the recurrence in the lower slopes of Oak Ridge of beds 
that from a paleontologic standpoint are undoubtedly the homologues 
of the lower portion of the lower Miocene which is encountered on 
Fourfork and Tar creeks. Below this paleontologic horizon in other 
portions of Oak Ridge, particularly to the west, still lower measures 
are exposed, consisting of brightly banded red and gray sandstone 
and sandy clay and heavier cross-bedded and somewhat conglomeratic 
rusty sandstone. This series is in general appearance very different 
from the Sespe beds north of the Santa Clara, yet in some of the details 
there is considerable resemblance. It would seem, therefore, that 
the horizons mentioned are repeated in the two localities, but with a 
certain differentiation of sediment and a reduced thickness to the south. 
Suggestions of such reduction are found even north of the Santa 
Clara in the westerly slope of Oat Mountain, where the Vaqueros 
and Modelo formations are perceptibly thinner than in their type 
localities. 

The foregoing description of structure about Sespe Canyon is the 
result of a reconnaissance made with reference to the mode of occur¬ 
rence of petroleum in the several localities in which it has been found. 
Detailed work, careful examination of individual strata for their fossil 
contents, and the tracing of the several horizons should lead to a much 
clearer understanding of the complexities that exist and might even 
alter the present exposition of some of the features. In the main, 
however, it is believed that the view presented is correct, and so far 
as it bears on the occurrence of petroleum it may be accepted. 


Bull. 309—07-5 



54 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


OIL WELLS. 

The wells in the Sespe district may he grouped as follows: Those 
of the Union Consolidated Oil Company in Sespe Canyon, at the base 
of Sulphur Peak; those in the vicinity of Devilsgate, a narrow gorge 
of the Sespe 2 or 3 miles below the Union wells; the Ivers wells, still 
lower in the canyon; the Ken tuck wells, also in Sespe Canyon just 
above the mouth of Little Sespe Creek; the Happy Thought wells, on 
the south bank of Little Sespe Creek near its mouth; the Foot-of-the- 
Hill wells, on Little Sespe Creek a mile above its confluence with the 
main stream: the Fourfork wells, on an upper branch of Little Sespe 
Creek 2 or 3 miles above the Foot-of-the-Hill wells, and the wells on 
Tar Creek. 

UNION CONSOLIDATED WELLS. 

The territory being developed by the Union Consolidated Oil Com¬ 
pany lies on the north flank of the main Topatopa anticline. At the 
time of the writer’s visit the company had but a single productive 
well, located at the sharp bend of Sespe Creek opposite a minor 
tributary descending from Sulphur Peak and entering the main stream 
a mile above the mouth of Tar Creek. The purpose of this well was to 
tap the white sandstone at the base of the Sespe formation, a sand¬ 
stone that here gives forth a considerable seepage of oil. The gravit}^ 
of the oil of this well is about 11° B. A second well was about to be 
drilled by the same company half a mile farther up the canyon, start¬ 
ing in the upper part of the Topatopa formation. It is probable that 
the intention was to obtain a yield from some of the petroliferous 
sandstones in the upper part of the Topatopa, seepages from which 
occur in the river bed a few hundred yards above the location of the 
well. 

REGION OF DEVILSGATE. 

The oil wells in the vicinity of Devilsgate are located a short dis¬ 
tance above the narrows of the Sespe gorge, close to the axis of the 
Coldwater anticline. The major part of this anticline lies west of 
Sespe Creek, the strata in the arch of the fold having been sufficiently 
crushed to determine the position of Coldwater Canyon. The general 
trend of the axis is N. 70° E., with an easterly pitch in the vicinity of 
Sespe Creek. About the end of this anticline the wells of the Bussell 
Company have been drilled. The western limit of the anticline is 
not known, but it extends well toward the summit of the divide 
between the Sespe and Santa Paula drainage systems, and may per¬ 
haps continue into the upper canyons of the east fork of the Santa 
Paula. The territory that has been proved to be productive along 
this fold is at present confined to its most accessible point, Sespe 
Canyon. The possibilities for the remaining length of the anticline 
are yet to be determined. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : SESPE FIELDS. 


55 


The heart of the Coldwater anticline is occupied by the lower divi¬ 
sion of variegated strata at the base of the Sespe formation. The 
arch is well exposed in the canyon walls east of the Sespe channel, 
where practically the same succession of beds is to be seen as in the 
region of the Union Consolidated Oil Company’s wells 2 or 3 miles 
farther up the canyon, at the base of Sulphur Peak. The lower 
members of the formation, however, are not exposed. The arch is 
comparatively symmetrical, and the wells lie on both sides of the 
axis and also of Sespe Creek. They penetrate strata lying below the 
division of greenish-gray shale in the upper part of this member of the 
Sespe, and it is reported that oil is derived from the white sandstone 
at the base of the formation, and possibly also from certain strata 
in the upper part of the Topatopa formation. The source of the oil 
is, therefore, supposedly the same as in the wells of the Union Con¬ 
solidated Oil Company. The wells, five in number, yield a black oil 
of heavy gravity. One of the wells is said to have produced 40 bar¬ 
rels of heavy oil per day and to have yielded enough gas to run a 30- 
horsepower boiler. Considerable water rises with the oil, but of course 
is easily separated in the settling tanks. No shipments of oil have as 
yet been made from this field, the entire product being consumed in 
the operations of drilling. 

IVERS WELLS. 

The Ivers wells, located in Sespe Canyon a short distance below 
Devilsgate, are drilled on and near the axis of a local anticline in the 
red sandstone lying about midway of the Sespe formation (see fig. 5). 



Fig. 5.—Sketch map showing location of Ivers wells with relation to anticlinal axis in the Sespe red beds. 
Heavy dots, wells productive in 1902. Figures indicate numbers of wells. Lines show outcrop of 
beds around nose of anticline. 

The anticline has a trend of N. 65° W. with an easterly pitch. A 
transverse section of the anticline indicates a dip of about 75° on the 
south limb and 30° on the north limb. The particular horizon 
affording oil is possibly well toward the bottom of the red beds, and is 
at least 600 feet lower than that from which the oil of the Kentuck 
wells, one-half or three-fourths of a mile to the south, is derived. 






56 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The westward extent of the I vers anticline was not determined, nor 
are its relations to the other folds of the region known. Its general 
trend would carry it toward the mouth of Coldwater Canyon. The 
change in direction exhibited by the numerous folds in this region 
suggests that the Ivers anticline may be continuous with the Cold- 
water anticline, the main curvature taking place at some point 
between the two groups of wells, probably on the slope toward Cold- 
water Canyon. On the other hand, the Ivers anticline may be 
merely a local crumple, one of the many that were evidently formed 
in this region. 

The Ivers wells are four in number, the oldest having been drilled 
about fifteen years. The early production of this well is said to have 
been about 20 barrels per day, but the four wells together at the 
time of the writer’s visit were not producing over 11 barrels. It may 
be added, however, that the condition of the wells was not conducive 
to their maximum possibilities, for they are cleaned only at long inter¬ 
vals. The oil is black and is said to vary slightly in gravity from 
well to well, the average being about 17° B. The depth of the wells 
is reported as between 800 and 1,000 feet. 

Incidentally it was learned that the cost of production for the four 
wells in 1902 was only about $3 per day, including $2.50 wages paid a 
pumper. Eleven barrels of oil per day at 50 cents yielded $5.50, 
indicating a profit of $2.50 per day, or about $75 per month. 

Concerning the extension of the productive area westward along 
this fold there is, of course, a question. Seepages, however, are # 
reported for its entire length, or well down the slope on the east side 
of Sespe Canyon above Devilsgate. 

KENTUCK WELLS. 

The Kentuck wells, in Sespe Canyon, just above the mouth of 
Little Sespe Creek, are unique from the standpoint of their struc¬ 
tural location, for they lie along or in proximity to the axis of a 
syncline, which is, moreover, one of the most prominent in the fields 
north of Santa Clara River. It must be said, however, that the 
region is one of exceedingly sharp compression, and it may be due 
to this that local channels and reservoirs conducive to the accumu¬ 
lation of oil have been formed under what might ordinarily be con¬ 
strued as unfavorable structural conditions. Throughout the Coast 
Range are many instances of oil having been obtained from wells 
drilled in highly crumpled strata. 

The syncline in which the Kentuck wells are located is traceable 
eastward through the summit of Oat Mountain and across Pole 
Canyon to Hopper Canyon, where it perhaps unites with another 
syncline of northeasterly trend, the curvature marking the change 
in direction which is characteristic of all the successive folds encoun- 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: SESPE FIELDS. 57 

tered from north to south along this gorge. To the west evidences 
of the syncline are to be found almost to Devilsgate, and it is pos¬ 
sible that in this direction the fold is continuous, though in a curved 
line, with that occupying the ridge between Coldwater and Pine 
canyons. The pitch of the axis of this syncline is toward the east, 
the strata becoming successively higher as distance in this direction 
is gained. This fold is the most prominent lying between the main 
Topatopa anticline and the series of folds which pass across the 
outer hills of this mountain mass. 

On account of the unusual structural position of the Kentuck wells 
a sketch of their location with reference to the axis of the syncline 
is given in fig. 6. Although they are identified with the synclinal 
structure it might be said that those on either side of the axis are 
on the corresponding slope of the adjacent anticline, and perhaps 



Fig. 6—Sketch map showing location of Kentuck group of wells in syncline in Sespe red beds. Heavy 
dots, productive wells; circles, dry wells. Lines indicate outcrops around syncline. Figures refer 
to numbers of wells or to dip of strata. 

this is the true way in which to regard them. Although the syn¬ 
cline is a prominent fold, it is, nevertheless, like the adjacent Ivers, 
Coldwater, and other anticlines, subordinate to the great anticline 
of the Topatopa Range, and the effect of the local structure may be 
lost in the general position which it occupies on the flanks of the far 
broader fold. It seems to the writer to be only in some such way 
as this that the presence of oil here and elsewhere along the axes of 
minor folds and even faults in this region can be accounted for. 
Incidentally, it is worthy of note that along portions of its length 
this syncline, as well as the adjacent folds, is so compressed that the 
plane of its axis is thrown past the vertical, the strata on both sides 
dipping to the north. In the immediate vicinity of the Kentuck 
wells, however, this overthrow has not taken place. 














58 


OTL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The horizons from which the Kentuck wells draw their oil are 
about midway of the Sespe formation. The logs of the wells show 
that the strata penetrated are sandstone, with minor layers of shale, 
all of a reddish color. The depth of the wells varies from 600 or 
700 feet to nearly 1,500 feet, and they pass through several zones 
that furnish oil in commercial amounts. The more productive body 
of rock, however, is encountered in the lower half of the drill holes. 
The oil is of a dark green to black color, and its gravity is said to 
be about 30° B. In January, 1906, only seven wells of this group 
were pumping, four on the Kentuck property and three on the Star. 
No. 4 Star was abandoned, because of the oil giving out and water 
coming in. 

HAPPY THOUGHT WELLS. 

The Happy Thought Oil Company’s wells are located in the SE. I 
sec. 1, T. 4 N., R. 20 W., on the south side of Little Sespe Creek, 
immediately east of its confluence with the main stream. The 
wells are drilled in the steeply dipping beds on the south side of the 
syncline from which the Kentuck wells derive their oil. In the 
Happy Thought territory, however, this syncline plunges rapidly 
toward the southeast, so that, considered from one point of view, 
the wells penetrate strata dipping southeastward from a hypothet¬ 
ical anticlinal axis somewhere to the northwest, possibly the Topa- 
topa axis. The wells start just below the brown sandstone at the 
top of the Sespe red beds, the oil, it is said, being derived from 
several layers of soft sandy shale between harder impervious beds. 
On account of the steep dip of the rocks and their alternating hard 
and soft composition, drilling on this property is reported to be 
difficult. 

The company now has three wells down and is drilling a fourth. 
The wells are less than 1,000 feet in depth, the oil being encountered 
at about 500 feet. The production is good at the start, and although 
falling off after a while, soon reaches a normal rate that is about 
the average of the other wells in this region. The oil is brown and 
the gravity about 27° B. A 2-inch pipe line connects the Happy 
Thought property with storage tanks at Brownstone, 3^ miles dis¬ 
tant, whence the oil is shipped by rail to San Francisco. 

FOOT-OF-THE-HILL OR LOS ANGELES WELLS. 

The Foot-of-the-Hill or Los Angeles wells, eight in number, are 
located on Little Sespe Creek about a mile above its entrance into 
the main stream. They are the westernmost wells in the south¬ 
ward sweep of the strata after their passage around the broad east 
end of the general Topatopa anticline. They are also adjacent to, 
yet in strata not involved in, the zone of highly crushed rocks that 
form so conspicuous a feature at the confluence of Little Sespe and 


I SANTA CLARA VALLEY: SESPE FIELDS. 


59 


Sespe creeks. They are, therefore, to be compared with the Four- 
fork and Tar Creek wells rather than with the Kentuck, Ivers, and 
other wells farther west. Drilling was started in the upper, rusty 
division of the Sespe formation, but the source of the oil is either in 
the lowermost strata of this division or in the uppermost of the red 
beds. The wells are from 800 to 1,600 feet in depth, and their oil¬ 
bearing zones constitute the fourth general horizon at which oil has 
been found in the Sespe formation. Their source of supply is below 
that of the Fourfork wells, which is, therefore, a fifth horizon in this 
great series of red beds and their associated strata. 

While the foregoing statement doubtless covers the general condi¬ 
tions of the occurrence of oil in this vicinity, the fact that the wells 



Fig. 7.—Sketch map of F oot-of-the-IIill oil wells, showing location with relation to Little Sespe Creek 
and the geologic formations. Heavy dots, wells productive in 1902. Broken lines indicate outcrops 
around nose of anticline. Figures are numbers of wells or dip of strata. 

are in line with a minor anticlinal flexure which appears in the sum¬ 
mit of the ridge to the east must be kept in mind. It is to be ob¬ 
served also that their position is at a point where the strike of the 
beds changes rather abruptly from northerly to westerly; they are 
also in one of the inner concentric belts of strata which are involved 
in the general Topatopa anticline; thus it may be that the conditions 
are almost analogous to those of an*anticline. In conditions some¬ 
what similar to this many productive wells of the Coast Range fields 
have been found. Fig. 7 is illustrative of these conditions. The rela¬ 
tive positions of the wells are closely approximated, although the re¬ 
sults are not those of an actual survey. 











60 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

At the time of the writer’s visit to the locality in 1902 it was im¬ 
possible to learn the precise depth of the several wells or whether the 
source of the oil was the same in all. The position of certain wells 
on strata following the inner curve, and of others on higher strata 
following an outer curve, taken in conjunction with the actual differ¬ 
ence in elevation of about 300 feet, would indicate that possibly the 
oil zone is of considerable breadth and thickness. 

FOURFORK WELLS. 

The Fourfork wells, 15 in number, are located along one of the 
main branches of Fourfork Creek, a tributary of Little Sespe Creek. 



Fig. 8.—Sketch map showing location of the Fourfork group of wells on Fourfork Creek with relation 
to the base of the upper purple beds. Circles, wells productive in 1902. Figures indicate numbers 
of wells or dip of strata. 

They are but a little west of the divide between this stream and Tar 
Creek. The altitude of their collars varies from about 2,200 to 2,700 
feet above sea level. Their depth is between 1,200 and 1,800 feet, 
in rocks which strike in general about N. 50° E. and dip 35°-45° SE. 
The strike is, however, but a part of the broad curve which is assumed 
by the strata in their passage about the east end of the Topatopa 
anticline. Stratigraphy and structure are both regular in the vicinity 
of the wells, a complete absence of the minor flexures which form so 
common a feature in other portions of the adjacent mountains being 
noteworthy. It will be recalled that the succession of strata in this 
vicinity, from the base upward, is the red beds and rusty beds, both 
regarded as Sespe; the purple shale, gray shale, and upper purple or 










SANTA CLARA VALLEY I SESPE FIELDS. 


61 


maroon measures (Vaqueros); the siliceous shale (Modelo), and the 
Modelo sandstone. The wells penetrate the lower third of the series, 
starting at horizons in or near the top of the lower purple shale and 
reaching perhaps the lower part of the rusty, calcareous sandstone 
which constitutes the upper division of the Sespe formation. It 
may be even that the upper part of the red beds is reached, red 
sand having been encountered in the bottom of some of the holes. 
Fig. 8 indicates the general disposition of these wells. Their pro¬ 
duction has been comparatively large, 200 barrels a day being the 
record of several at the start. Within a year, however, most of 
them decreased to about 60 barrels, and at the present time few 
yield more than 20 to 30 barrels a day and many much less. The 
gravity of the oil is about 32° B.—the same as that of the Tar Creek 
wells. 

The feature of especial interest in regard to the Fourfork wells is 
their altitude, coupled with the fact that they derive their oil from 
the same general zone, although from a somewhat different horizon, 
as the Tar Creek wells to the east and those of the Foot-of-the-Hill 
district to the west. This indicates an undulation of the oil table 
or the altitude at which the oil stands in the same bed. 

TAR CREEK WELLS. 

The Tar Creek wells are located in the southwestern portion of the 
Tar Creek amphitheater, which is drained by several tributaries flowing 
directly into this stream, including one of its principal branches 
known as Bear Creek. The wells number between 20 and 30, but 
are now mostly abandoned, their yield having fallen to but 3 or 4 
barrels a day. Originally 100 to 200 barrels was the production. 
Like the wells of the Fourfork region, these also are distributed along 
the curve of the strata as they bend about the axis of the Topatopa 
anticline. The local strike varies, however, slightly on either side 
of N. 10° E., and the dip is generally between 25° and 30° SE. The 
strata penetrated are apparently somewhat higher than those of the 
Fourfork region, and these are, therefore, the highest wells thus far 
considered in the Sespe region. One at least starts near the top of 
the gray shale about midway of the Vaqueros formation; the others 
start somewhat lower; a few wells, the shallowest of the group, start at 
a comparatively short distance above the rusty beds of the upper 
division of the Sespe formation. Oil appears to be obtained at depths 
between 230 and 1,700 feet below the surface, in the lower portion 
of the Vaqueros formation or the rusty beds in the upper portion of 
the Sespe. There is evidence, however, that many oil-bearing horizons 
were passed in the younger beds overlying these members. The 
presence of oil in these younger beds is undoubtedly due to the occur¬ 
rence of fine sands or other porous materials, which are distributed 


62 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


through the series and which form the reservoirs for the collection of 
oil from the more shaly members. The logs of some of the wells 
indicate that a considerable amount of sand had been penetrated by 
the drill, but it is probable that the strata are sandy shale of fine 
grain rather than distinct sandstone. Occasionally red sand has 
been reported from some of the wells at depths less than 1,000 feet, 
but it is probable that this is the purple or reddish shale constituting 
the lower part of the Vaqueros formation. 

In the field it was thought that a slight local undulation of the 
beds could be detected in their broad sweep about the axis of the 
general Topatopa anticline. A like occurrence was suspected in 
the Fourfork district. Slight as these are, they should not be disre¬ 
garded in an attempt to collect facts bearing on the conditions under 
which the oil of the Coast Range is found. 

The yield of these wells is very irregular and the accumulation of 
oil is readily pumped off. It is reported by the man in charge of the 
wells that they are affected by rain, the yield increasing materially 
after a heavy fall. 

POLE CANYON. 

LOCATION. 

Pole Canyon, although but 2 miles from Sespe Creek, lies wholly be¬ 
yond the area of disturbed rocks that are so well developed at the 
entrance to the gorge of the Sespe. Although no productive wells 
have yet been drilled in this territory it is deemed advisable to include 
here a short discussion of its structure, as it connects two productive 
areas and may at some future time be found on careful prospecting to 
be itself an oil-producing region. 

GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE. 

PI. II , sec. F-F', is illustrative of the conditions along the lines 
F-F' of the general map (PI. I) which are practically those prevailing 
along Pole Canyon. At the north end of the section, on the eastern 
flank of Hopper Mountain, the southern and western edge of an 
extensive outcrop of Modelo sandstone is seen. South of this outcrop 
is a narrow belt of Vaqueros shale which is locally crumpled into an 
asymmetric anticline. South of the Vaqueros area the Modelo forma¬ 
tion reappears, turned past the vertical at the crest of the ridge east 
of Pole Canyon, but quickly regaining its southerly dip in the slopes 
below. At the lower edge of the outcrop there is some confusion in 
the succession of strata and in the dips and it is believed that a slight 
displacement has taken place in addition to an overthrow. The over¬ 
throw is best observed in the upper Modelo sandstone, which out¬ 
crops in a continuous half circle, the axis of the fold pitching about 
45° SE. In this sandstone also is well shown the principal syncline of 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: POLE CANYON. 


63 


the region, which may be designated the Oat Mountain syncline, its 
western extremity lying in that mountain. Except for sharp anti¬ 
clinal crumples near its northern and southern edges, this syncline is 
comparatively symmetrical, the outcropping stratum in the trough of 
the fold being the uppermost shale of the Modelo formation. Imme¬ 
diately south of the southern anticlinal crumple is a second fault, 
designated the Sulphur Mountain fault, its trend being N. 60° W., the 
direction of its hade doubtful, though perhaps to the south, the 
downthrow to the south, and the maximum displacement probably 
more than 1,000 feet. This fracture is traceable diagonally across 
Sulphur Mountain to the bottom of the Santa Clara Valley; it is also 
in direct line with certain sharp crumples in Chaffee Canyon, south of 
the valley, to which, therefore, it may be structurally related. To the 
west the fault passes into the ridge running south from Oat Mountain, 
perhaps continuing to Sespe Canyon and merging with the San Caye- 
tano fracture. Over this portion of its course, however, its identifi¬ 
cation is next to impossible, for the strata are but a succession of 
shales which maybe either V aqueros, Modelo, or both. These shales are 
of great thickness and extend southward in unbroken outcrop to the 
Santa Clara Valley, only a narrow fringe of overlying Pliocene sepa¬ 
rating them from the bottom lands for a mile or two along their front. 
The shales display a number of minor folds, but their predominant dip 
is northward. Just before passing beneath the Pliocene, however, 
this seems to change to southward, more or less in conformity with 
that of the younger rocks. Across the Santa Clara Valley, but at a 
distance of nearly 2 miles, the probable upper members of the Sespe 
and lower members of the Vaqueros appear, but the intervening 
structure is unknown. 

In a broad way the folds along the section just described appear to 
divide themselves into three major and half a dozen or more minor 
folds. The major folds include the anticlines at the north and south 
ends of the section and the intervening syncline; the minor folds the 
crumples on the sides of the syncline. Of the major folds the syncline 
extends farthest toward the area of confused structure at the mouth 
of Sespe Canyon, perhaps being involved in it; the northern anticline 
apparently disappears on the southeasterly slope of the general 
Topatopa fold; while the anticline at the south is lost beneath the 
recent deposits of the Sespe and Santa Clara valleys. 

East of the line of the section both major and minor folds in the 
main continue to the center of curvature a mile west of Hopper Can¬ 
yon, where the strata bend from a northwesterly to a northeasterly 
trend. Indeed, the folds seem in places to bend in like manner or at 
least to pass into others of northeasterly trend, similarly developed 
farther east. 


64 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS. 

LOCATION. 

The district discussed in this section embraces the territory con¬ 
tiguous to Hopper and Nigger canyons, the lower portion of Piru 
Creek, and its tributaries Modelo, Blanchard, Lime, and Reasoner 
canyons on the west and Santa Felicia and Holser canyons on the east. 
The topography, especially about Hopper Canyon, is very rugged, 
but considerable portions of the district are accessible over the roads 
which follow the canyons. Piru, at the mouth of Piru Creek, is the 
only town of importance in the district. 

STRUCTURE. 

WEST OF PIRU CREEK. 

Within the drainage area of Hopper Canyon the structure varies so 
abruptly that to indicate it completely would require cross sections 
every quarter or half mile; a general idea of it may, however, be 
gained by the examination of sec. G-G', PI. IV, which represents a 
north-south section through Piru Peak. 

The Hopper Canyon section proper reveals at its north end a short, 
though pronounced anticline of northeasterly trend, with a narrow 
core of Vaqueros beds exposed at its center and the Modelo sandstone 
arching over and about its end a short distance to the east. In the 
Piru Peak section this anticline is probably represented by the slight 
pucker near the north end. Near the middle of the section is the 
sharply compressed Modelo anticline, showing in massive beds of the 
lower Modelo sandstone. Between this anticline and that first men¬ 
tioned are several sharp puckers, the most pronounced being that on 
the syncline which passes south of Piru Peak. For this portion of the 
section the thickness of the Modelo sandstone is estimated at about 
3,000 feet. 

The Modelo anticline is one of the most conspicuous of the secondary 
folds in the field. The arch shows to best advantage at the head of 
Modelo Canyon, where the lower Modelo sandstone on either side is 
sharply compressed. The dips are between 60° and 80°, but the 
southern limb of the fold is perhaps a little steeper than the northern 
limb. The anticline may be traced westward to Hopper Canyon, 
beyond which it either disappears or merges with one or another of 
the folds that occur in the Vaqueros shale. Eastward the fold is 
traceable to Piru Creek, where it seems to disappear, unless it should 
by a sharp curve merge with the Holser anticline, half a mile to the 
south. In the lower portion of Modelo Canyon the upper sandstone 
of the formation, together with the underlying shale, shows marked- 
crumpling, the crest of the fold being carried past the vertical. The 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS. 


65 


succession of strata on the two sides of this fold does not appear to 
be exactly the same, the relative proportion of sandstone and shale 
being somewhat at variance. This probably is due to concealed 
faults a short distance south of the axis. 

The Modelo anticline is the seat of two important fields of oil. 
One is developed close to and on either side of the axis of the fold, 
along the upper course of Modelo Canyon and at the divide between 
this canyon and the drainage flowing to the west; the other is devel¬ 
oped by the Sunset wells near stream level in Hopper Canyon. Other 
portions of the anticline are as yet undeveloped, but there is no evi¬ 
dence to show that such areas do not contain oil, and it seems probable 
that search by the drill would be rewarded. 

South of the Modelo anticline are two successive synclines separated 
by a fault. These appear both on the general section (PI. Ill) and 
on sec. G-G' (PI. IV). The rocks involved are the lower and upper 
Modelo sandstones and the intermediate and overlying shales. The 
evidence of the fault lies in the irregularity of outcrop at the head of 
the south fork of Modelo Canyon, in the succession of strata in Lyons 
Peak and farther west, and in the fractured condition of the beds 
overlooking Hopper Canyon. As exposed at the surface, the fault 
seems to be confined to the shale between the two Modelo sandstones. 
It is difficult to estimate the amount of throw that may have taken 
place, but it is at least 500 feet at the point of maximum development 
and perhaps much greater. To the east the fractured condition of 
the rocks continues for at least half the length of Modelo Canyon 
but here possibly the fault dies out on the southern limb of an exceed¬ 
ingly sharp fold that appears in a prominent knoll just north of the 
gorge, directly in line with the axis of the Modelo anticline. The 
effects of the fold doubtless extend as far east as Piru Creek, possibly 
beyond. The western terminus of the fault is uncertain. South of 
the fault the upper Modelo sandstone appears to have been folded 
into a sharp syncline. 

Less than half a mile south of the syncline just mentioned lies the 
Lyons anticline, which is the third important anticline of the region 
and which crosses the lower portion of Nigger Canyon. The arch is 
well shown in the divide immediately east of the Lyons wells in the 
upper Modelo sandstone and the shales immediately above and below. 
The shale is more conspicuous in the heart of the anticline to the west, 
while the sandstone may be seen on the slopes toward Piru Valley, 
curving about the underlying bed. The trend of this anticline is 
approximately N. 80° E. from Nigger Canyon eastward and S. 65° W. 
from half a mile west of Nigger Canyon westward. This curve con¬ 
forms to that of the other folds both to the north and to the south. 
To the east the Lyons anticline was not recognized with certainty 


66 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


beyond Pirn Creek. Its .trend is toward the Holser anticline, south 
of the Holser Canyon, but whether the Lyons or the Modelo anticline 
is continuous with the Holser is undetermined. In general, there is 
great confusion of strikes and dips in the slopes of the hills west of 
Piru Creek for the lower 2 or 3 miles of the valley, and without fur¬ 
ther details it is impossible to affirm whether or not any of the folds 
are continuous with other folds that appear to the east of the stream. 
In the Hopper Canyon section the Lyons anticline shows conspicu¬ 
ously in the middle Modelo shale. It is probable also that a fault 
has developed along the axis of the fold in this locality, the beds to 
the south having been carried downward several hundred feet. The 
maximum displacement appears to be along the east-west lateral enter¬ 
ing Hopper Canyon from the east half a mile above its mouth. The 
fracture seems to have resulted from the excessive local development 
of the anticline into an overturned or reversed fold. The attendant 
displacement accounts for the discrepancy in the distances of the 
Modelo sandstone from the apparent axis of the fold on one side and 
the other, in the line of the Hopper Canyon section. West of Hopper 
Canyon the fault is marked by a zone of highly contorted and frac¬ 
tured strata, having a width of about 400 feet. The direction 
assumed by the fault would carry it directly against the Sulphur 
Mountain fracture a mile farther west at an angle of 60°. 

A short distance south of the Lyons anticline the Modelo formation 
is unconformably succeeded by heavy conglomerates and sandstones 
of the Fernando formation. Near the contact east of Hopper Canyon 
the dip of the younger strata is southward. East of Nigger Canyon, 
however, the Fernando beds are overturned, with a steep northerly 
dip, but this probably , changes to southerly as the beds pass beneath 
the Santa Clara Valley. From this point the line of unconformity 
between the Fernando and Modelo formations passes, with a curvi¬ 
linear trend, northward above the mouth of Holser Canyon, remaining 
east of Piru Creek. 

At the line of the general section (Z-Z', PI. Ill) the Fernando 
formation is narrow of outcrop and highly inclined, but otherwise 
simple of structure. A short distance to the east, however, it is folded, 
and the folds become more pronounced and extensive across Piru Cneek, 
developing into an anticline of considerable proportions, with several 
minor crumples near by on either side. 

The Fernando and underlying beds pass beneath the Santa Clara 
Valley, but although the distance across the valley is less than 2 miles 
the Modelo formation has apparently disappeared on the south side, 
the principal formation in the hills being the Vaqueros, with Fernando 
rocks here and there resting against it above the valley level. This 
occurrence suggests possible faulting along the valley, with overlap of 
the Fernando on the older Miocene beds. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS. 


67 


The fold next north of the Modelo anticline is the syncline that 
passes south of Pirn Peak. It may be seen both on the west side of 
the divide and east of the peak in the upper portions of Blanchard 
Canyon. The crumpling is slight and the dip on either side of the 
axis comparatively gentle. 

North of this syncline is another anticline of importance, the axis 
of which passes east and west across Lime Canyon. The heart of this 
fold is occupied by the lower Modelo sandstone, which is here exposed 
over an area of 3 or 4 square miles. It is surrounded by the overlying 
shale, which in the divide north from Piru Peak forms scarcely more 
than a thin film. To the east across Piru Creek the shale is succeeded 
by the upper Modelo sandstone, and this in turn by the still higher 
siliceous shale at the top of the Modelo; finally the heavy mass of the 
Fernando sediments sets in, arching about and over the eastward- 
pitching axis of the fold. 

The northernmost fold along this section within the Camulos quad¬ 
rangle, with the exception of one or two minor crumples, is the Rea- 
soner syncline, the axis of which occupies Reasoner Canyon. This 
flexure disappears, however, in the divide at the head of the creek, 
where the heavy lower Modelo sandstone lies in a broad arch about the 
axis of the Top atop a anticline. To the east the syncline continues for 
an undetermined distance beyond Piru Creek, being conspicuous in 
the Fernando conglomerate and sandstone in the hills between Santa 
Felicia and Devil canyons. Both slopes of the syncline are gentle, 
the dip generally being less than 40°; but there are areas in which this 
is somewhat increased by local crumpling. 

The northernmost of the folds described in the preceding para¬ 
graphs and others beyond the confines of the Camulos quadrangle all 
fade into or are developed as minor crumples on the general easterly 
slope of the main Topatopa anticline. 

Within the region here described the three prominent anticlines, the 
Hopper, the Modelo, and the Lyons, have proved oil bearing, the 
Modelo being the most productive, perhaps on account of its greatest 
development; the Lyons less so, and the Hopper the least. On the 
Hopper fold, however, there is at the present time but a single well of 
low yield. 

STRUCTURE EAST OP PIRU CREEK. 

The region east of Piru Creek presents a number of approximately 
east-west folds, some of which, particularly the more northerly, are 
continuations of those lying west of the stream already described, 
while others farther south are apparently restricted almost wholly to 
the area east of Piru Creek, only their extreme points extending west¬ 
ward across the stream. Of the latter, the Holser anticline is the most 
conspicuous. The axis of this fold lies in the hills a little south of 


68 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Holser Canyon. Its trend is slightly north of west. It extends west¬ 
ward across the Pirn Valley, perhaps connecting with the Modelo or 
the Lyons anticline, or with both. To the east it was recognized in the 
high knoll near the Ventura-Los Angeles county line, beyond which 
observations in detail were not carried. The surficial formation 
affected by this anticline is the Fernando, consisting of conglomerate, 
sandstone, and clay. Along its axis the coarser strata have at various 
places been impregnated with petroleum, and near one of these, in 
Ramona Canyon, the Ramona Oil Company is drilling a well, the depth 
at the time of the writer’s visit being about 1,000 feet, but only the 
slightest traces of oil have been found. North of Holser Canyon is 
an abandoned dry well, known as the Crown King. 

Between the Holser and Lime Canyon anticlines there is undoubt¬ 
edly a syncline, but the details were not worked out for the region east 
of Piru Creek. To the south the Holser anticline occupies the 
space quite to the Santa Clara Valley, but on this limb of the fold 
(see PI. IV, sec. I-F), on the southern face of the outer ridge, a short 
distance below its crest, is developed a sharp pucker, by which the 
beds in the lower half of the ridge are turned past the vertical, having 
a northerly dip. 

OIL WELLS. 

The oil wells of the Hopper-Piru district comprise the San Cayetano, 
Sunset, Fortuna, Nigger Canyon, Modelo Canyon, Piru Oil and Land 
Company, and Holser Canyon wells. All but the last two groups are 
situated west of Piru Creek. 

SAN CAYETANO WELLS. 

The San Cayetano wells, three in number, lie near the forks of Hop¬ 
per Canyon about 3^ miles in a direct line above its mouth and con¬ 
stitute the uppermost development in this gorge. They are drilled in 
the upper portion of the Vaqueros shale, the northernmost well start¬ 
ing but a short distance below the lower Modelo sandstone. The 
maximum depth is 600 feet. In one or another of them, however, oil 
has been found almost from the grass roots down in streaks of sand¬ 
stone of variable thickness that are interbedded in the shale. With 
the oil has been found considerable water and gas. These wells lie in 
a region of great disturbance, which is attributable, perhaps, to the 
proximity of an anticlinal axis, in the first place, and to a sharp bend 
in the strata from a northwesterly to a northeasterly direction in the 
second place. This latter feature is repeated at the Sunset and For¬ 
tuna wells farther down the canyon. It may be reasonable to infer 
that while each of these three oil-bearing localities is that of an anti¬ 
cline, the curvature of the strata as a feature in the great Topatopa 
system of folds may also have acted favorably on the yield of petro- 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS. 


69 


leuni in this region, the center of curvature in this case being construed 
as a part of the axis of an anticline. Such an occurrence has been 
encountered at a number of points in the oil fields of the Coast Range. 

The anticline on which the San Cayetano wells are located has a 
northeasterly trend from a point a little southwest of the wells to the 
divide between Hopper and Reasoner canyons. The length of the 
fold is, therefore, about 2 miles. Except for these wells the anticline 
is unprospected, but there is no reason for the choice of one location 
over another. As the territory develops it will be interesting to note 
the success of drilling to the northeast of the present field. That the 
anticlines of this region may yield oil in more than one locality is evi¬ 
denced by the Modelo anticline, which carries the very productive 
territory of the Modelo wells and also that of the Sunset Oil Company. 

The yield of the San Cayetano wells is but 4 or 5 barrels of 14° grav¬ 
ity oil, but it is thought that this will increase as drilling is carried 
deeper. 

SUNSET WELLS. 

The Sunset wells, 11 in all, are located on the east side of Hopper 
Canyon, a short distance above the entrance of a lateral gorge that 
heads against Modelo Canyon. They penetrate the Modelo sand¬ 
stone, which occurs also in the wells of the Modelo Oil Company to 
the east. The dip of the beds is about 45° N.—that is, the wells 
have been drilled on the northern flank of an anticline the axis of 
which has a general N. 80° W. strike. Apparently the anticline is 
the same as the Modelo, although the connection between the two 
has not been traced. The area covered by the Sunset wells is some¬ 
what less than a half mile east and west by 500 to 600 feet north 
and south. 

The depth of the wells is generally less than 600 feet. The pro¬ 
duction is between 3 and 15 barrels per day, with a variable and in 
several wells excessive amount of water. It is thought that the 
production might be considerably increased by cleaning the wells. 
The oil is run into a common tank, and the gravity there obtained 
by the writer was 16.4° B. An initial yield as great as 75 barrels 
was obtained from certain of the wells several years ago. In Janu¬ 
ary, 1906, only five of the wells were being pumped. 

The Sunset wells afford another case of production in a region of 
highly crumpled strata and a rapid succession of flexures. 

FORTUNA WEL1£. 

The wells of the Buckhorn Oil and Transportation Company are, 
perhaps, best designated by their early name, Fortuna. The terri¬ 
tory is the farthest south of the productive areas in Hopper Canyon, 
lying about 2 miles north of the town of Buckhorn. 

Bull. 309—07-6 



70 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


This also is a group of wells that has been developed along the 
axis of one of the minor anticlines. (See PI. VIII, B.) The fold 
has an apparent length of barely 1 mile, and it is in the midst of a 
series of closely spaced flexures. The strike of the anticlinal axis is N. 
50° E., and the wells are distributed along the axis in almost a 
direct line. Fourteen holes have been drilled to a maximum depth 
of about 1,000 feet. The rocks penetrated are the siliceous and 
earthy shales that lie between the lower and upper Modelo sand¬ 
stones. In one or two instances, however, the lower portion of the 
upper sandstone, which consists of alternating thin sandstone and 
shale beds, has been perforated. This horizon is the highest that is 
productive in the Hopper Canyon district. The Sunset wells draw 
from strata near the base of the Modelo formation, while the San 
Cayetano wells receive their supply from the upper members of the 



Fig. 9.—Sketch map showing location of Fortuna wells with relation to the anticlinal axis. Heav> 
dots, productive wells; small circles, abandoned wells. Figures indicate numbers of wells. (See 
PI. VIII, B.) 

Vaqueros formation, which in turn are higher than any of the pro¬ 
ductive horizons in the Tar Creek and other districts alreadv 

%* 

considered. 

The maximum yield of any one of the Fortuna wells as reported 
is 75 barrels per day, but it is now generally less than 10 barrels. 
The gravity of the oil is about 14° B. Much water is pumped with 
the oil, being separated in tanks at the wells. The oil is pumped to 
storage tanks on the line of railway about 2 miles distant. 

The accompanying sketch (fig. 9) illustrates the general distribu¬ 
tion of the wells with respect to Hopper Creek and the axis of the 
anticline. 








U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. VIII 




B. FORTUNA WELLS, HOPPER CANYON, VENTURA COUNTY. 












SANTA CLARA VALLEY: HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS, 


71 


NIGGER CANYON WELLS. 

The three wells in Nigger Canyon are owned by L. H. Lyon, of 
Los Angeles. They are located at the head of the southern of the 
two east forks of the canyon and start in strata which are close to 
the line of division between the upper Modelo sandstone and the 
underlying shale—that is, they penetrate a zone which is practically 
the same as that from which the Fortuna wells obtain their oil. 
Their depth is approximately 1,000 feet. Oil springs occur in the 
immediate vicinity and may have determined the selection of this 
territory for drilling. The wells are close to the axis of a prominent 
anticline, which is perhaps one of the leading secondary folds north 
of Santa Clara River. This fold has an apparent length of about 
5 miles, but no wells except these have been drilled upon it. Its 
trend in general is about N. 80° E., but varies somewhat from point 
to point. Toward the east, in the direction of Piru Valley, this fold 
has the appearance of passing into the Modelo anticline or one of its 
minor crumples. To the west it is traceable beyond Hopper Can¬ 
yon, where it becomes more or less obscure in the great body of 
shale which separates the two principal Modelo sandstones and 
where it comes into close proximity with one of the important 
northwest-southeast folds that extend from this point ^westward to 
Sespe Canyon. Of the Nigger Canyon wells, Nos. 1 and 3 are a 
short distance south and No. 2 is immediately north of the axis of 
the anticline, which at this point trends N. 83° W. These wells are 
from a year to three and a half years old. Nos. 1 and 3 yield each 
5 to 8 barrels per day, but No. 2 was flooded with water, which has 
prevented its being in service. It is reported that in No. 3, at a 
depth of 65 feet, a body of asphalt was encountered, which drilled 
with difficulty. It was hard at the top and of the consistency of 
maltha at the bottom, and is supposed to have filled a fissure in the 
shale. The oil was found at intervals from a depth of 10 feet to 
the bottom of the wells. Gas occurs in small amounts, and water to 
the extent of about one-third of the oil has been encountered. 

MODELO CANYON WELLS. 

The structural feature of chief interest in Modelo Canyon is an anti¬ 
cline in which the lower Modelo sandstone is sharply folded as dia- 
grammatically represented in PL III, sec. X-Z' and PI. IV, sec. G-GL 
The general aspect of the locality is shown in PI. VIII, A. A second 
feature of minor importance is the succession of crushed folds, with 
faults, at the head of the south fork of the canyon, one-fourth to 
one-half mile south of the anticline. 

The Modelo anticline has already been referred to, notably in the 
general description of the geology of the region between Hopper and 


72 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Piru creeks. Nowhere, however, is the fold more perfectly and sym¬ 
metrically developed than at the head of Modelo Canyon, nor is the 
lower Modelo sandstone anywhere more typically represented than in 
this region. The exact horizon of the sandstone that outcrops at the 
divide between the east and west drainage is probably in the lower 
half of the sandstone member, but owing to the steepness of the dip on 
both limbs of the anticline, amounting to 70° or 80°, it is questionable 
if the wells have penetrated to the base of the formation, although a 
depth of 1,500 feet has been attained. 

The length of the Modelo anticline is somewhat uncertain; to the 
west, beyond Hopper Canyon, it may pass into one of the folds of that 
region, while to the east it may prove to be continuous with the anti¬ 
cline that lies immediately south of Holser Canyon. The Modelo 
wells are located about the middle of this fold and on either side of its 
axis. This is one of the few instances in the Coast Range where oil 
wells have been developed midway of a fold or in such close proximity 
to its axis. It may be worthy of note that the Modelo anticline lies 
but a short distance north of a line of sharp crushing and folding, thus 
repeating a relationship between the productive anticlines and faults 
that has been established in several of the California fields, notably 
those of the Puente Hills. The developed area of this district is thus 
far confined to the lower Modelo sandstone, but the structure is con¬ 
tinued eastward into the overlying shale and the upper sandstone. 

The relative positions of the wells along this anticlinal fold in 
Modelo Canyon, considered with the depths at which oil is obtained, 
are of interest; for instance, between the lowest and the highest well 
there is a difference in altitude of nearly 800 feet; between well No. 
18, the lowest, and No. 19, at an elevation slightly below the highest 
well, there is a distance of perhaps 700 feet; in No. 18, with a depth of 
1,090 feet, the lowest oil occurred at 930 feet; in No. 19 the lowest oil 
was found at 805 feet, at the bottom of the well. This would indicate 
a curve of the oil table, which corresponds somewhat with the slope 
of the present surface along the anticline. 

The general trend of the axis of the Modelo anticline is but 3° or 4° 
north of west, although in approaching Hopper Canyon and the val¬ 
ley of Piru Creek the direction becomes N. 80° W. 

The wells of the Modelo Oil Company number 24. One is drilled 
directly in the divide between Modelo and Hopper canyons, two a 
short distance west of this divide, and the remainder east of the divide 
for half a mile down Modelo Canyon. The accompanying three logs 
from the records of the company have been selected to show the com¬ 
position of the Modelo sandstone. Well No. 14 lies near the middle 
of the group, No. 24 is about 500 feet west of the divide, and No. 18 
is the easternmost well in the proved area. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS. 


73 


Logs of v eils of the Modelo Oil Company . Modelo Canyon and licinity. 

WELL NO. 14. 


» 


White sand.. 
Oil sand (oil) 
White sand.. 
Oil sand (oil) 
White sand.. 
Oil sand (oil) 
White sand.. 
Oil sand (oil) 
Water sand.. 
Oil sand (oil) 
Water sand.. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

190 

190 

210 

400 

60 

460 

70- 

530 

70 

600 

35 

635 

75 

710 

70 

780 

40 

820 

50 

870 

10 

880 


WELL NO. 24. 


Sand rock. 

Adobe. 

Clay. 

White sand. 

Adobe. 

Sand rock. 

White sand. 

Sand and adobe... 

Adobe. 

Oil sand. 

W ater sand. 

Sand and adobe... 

Oil sand (oil). 

Sand rock. 

Sand and bowlders 

Hard sand. 

Water sand. 

White sand. 

Oil sand (oil). 

Hard sand. 

Sand and adobe... 
Oil sand (oil). 


115 

115 

5 

120 

25 

145 

10 

155 

15 

170 

10 

180 

315 

495 

45 

540 

5 

545 

50 

595 

25 

620 

70 

695 

10 

705 

50 

755 

120 

875 

20 

895 

60 

955 

15 

970 

42 

1,012 

23 

1,035 

75 

1,110 

35 

1,145 


WELL NO. 18. 


Blue sand. 

Gray sand (oil at 160 feet). 

Black shale. 

White sand. 

Black shale. 

White sand (water at 290 feet). 

Black shale (water at 316 feet). 

White sand. 

Clay. 

White sand (gas and water at 495 feet) 

Clay. 

White sand (oil at 870 feet). 

Gray sand. 

Shale and sand (oil at 923 feet). 

Asphaltic sand. 

Gray sand. 

Water sand (oil at 1,030 feet). 

Olay. 

Water sand. 


121 

.121 

39 

160 

25 

185 

45 

220 

30 

250 

45 

295 

35 

330 

50 

380 

28 

408 

132 

540 

20 

560 

310 

870 

35 

905 

25 

930 

5 

935 

65 

1,000 

30 

1,030 

43 

1,073 

17 

1,090 


The figures in the first column of the above log represent the dis¬ 
tances for which each individual stratum was encountered. As the 
dip of the beds is between 65° and 80°, these amounts are far in excess 
of the actual thickness of the respective beds. 

From the log of well No. 18 it seems probable that the thickness of 
the productive sands at the several horizons is slight. 


« 













































































74 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The logs are given in the vernacular of the driller. It is probable 
however, that adobe and clay are one and the same, except that the 
former is perhaps somewhat more tenacious than the latter. Shale is 
distinguished from clay by being less sticky and more inclined to 
come up in minute slivers. The sands are distinguished by colors, 
but this feature is not significant. The water sands are those in 
which water has been encountered in drilling, and it is to be observed 
that they are in alternation with the oil sands, the two being in places 
adjacent; in places separated by a clay parting. Mr. Sperry, man¬ 
ager of the Modelo Oil Company, believes that at least a thin stratum 
of shale between such sands is the rule. It is difficult to explain the 
alternation of water and oil sands if consideration is given to the sup¬ 
posed transmigration of the oil from its seat of origin in the shales into 
the sandstones, which serve as reservoirs. It has been suggested that 
this alternating occurrence may be accounted for by considering each 
pair of layers—the oil above and the water below—as occupying an 
isolated channel or reservoir, the segregation having taken place after 
their entrance into the containing strata on account of the difference 
in specific gravity of the two fluids. Nearly all the wells periodically 
pump more or less water with the oil, at times in the proportion of 3 
barrels of water to 1 barrel of oil, at other times in equal amount. 
The continuity of sands bearing water and oil need not be regarded as 
indicating that the two are mixed in their natural occurrence, but 
only that both flow into the well from the same bed, the oil perhaps 
resting upon the water in the reservoir. 

The bowlders referred to in the log of well No. 24, between the 
depths of 755 and 875 feet, are unquestionably the concretions that 
characterize the lower Modelo sandstone. 

The yield of the Modelo wells is between 5 and 15 barrels per day, 
and Mr. Sperry states that since 1897 there has been no perceptible 
decrease in the amount. Of course for the first few days the yield 
was considerably in excess of these figures. The oil is black and 
its gravity ranges between 25° and 32° B., with perhaps 28° as an 
average. The wide variation in gravity of the oil from these wells is 
a feature that is difficult to explain. 

Strong seepages are found along the canyon in the debris that fills 
the bottom. The sandstone in the arch of the anticline also is dark, 
with bitumen contents, especially on the northern side of the axis. 

WELLS OF THE PIRU OIL AND LAND COMPANY. 

The productive wells of the Piru Oil and Land Company are located 
in the valley of Piru Creek, about 2 miles northeast of Piru. At pres¬ 
ent two wells yield oil and one water. They penetrate conglomerate 
and sandstone, with some clay, which are believed from their fossils 
to be the Fernando formation. The general dip of the strata is from 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS. 


75 ' 


45° to 60° or 70° S. and the strike varies slightly on either side of east 
and west. The particular horizon in the Fernando is somewhat 
uncertain, by reason of the proximity of the wells to what appears 
to be a line of unconformity between this formation and the older 
Modelo beds. It is, however, undoubtedly well up in the Fernando, 
if the section across the hills in front of the wells and directly north 
of Camulos is to be taken as a criterion. 

The structural position of the wells is also somewhat in doubt, for 
no anticline is encountered along the creek for the distance of a mile. 
On the other hand, there is .within half a mile south of the wells a 
marked east-west disturbance, which has at one point the appear¬ 
ance of a syncline, at another of an overturn of the beds adjacent to 
a sharp crumple, and at still another of a fault. About half a mile 
northwest of the wells is the anticline, near the axis of which the 
Nigger Canyon wells are situated. It is possible that the effect of 
this anticline extends as far distant from its axis as this group of w^ells. 
They are from 300 to 600 feet deep, and undoubtedly their oil is 
derived from the conglomerate and sandstone of the Fernando, a 
horizon higher than any other yielding oil north of Santa Clara River. 

The production of these wells is but a barrel or two daily of what 
is said to be 15° gravity oil. The oil is black and thick, and much 
water is pumped with it, separation being effected in tanks. 

Several other wells have been drilled on the property of the Piru 
Oil and Land Company lying along Piru Creek, extending from the 
mouth nearly to Reasoner Canyon. These ventures, however, have 
not been crowned with success. 

WELLS OF HOLSER CANYON. 

Less than half a mile south of Holser Canyon is one of the more 
prominent anticlines that have affected the Fernando formation east 
of Piru Creek. The continuation of this anticline to the west w r as 
not determined, but from its position and trend it may pass into the 
Modelo fold; on the other hand, like so many other folds in this region, 
it may spring from the system w r est of Piru Creek, but maintain an 
independent position east of the stream. 

Two wells, the Ramona and New Camulos, are located a little 
south of the axis of this anticline, in tributaries of Holser Canyon, 
and north of the canyon, between half a mile and a mile north of the 
axis, is the Crown King. None of these wells has yet found oil. 
The rocks of Holser Canyon are conglomerate and sandstone, with 
local beds of argillaceous shale. Some of the sandstone shows the 
presence of a considerable amount of bitumen throughout its mass 
and it is probable that drilling operations are conducted here on this 
account. 


76 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


OIL FIELDS SOUTH OF THE SANTA CLARA. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

The oil fields south of Santa Clara River involve an area having an 
east-west length of 29 miles and a width of from one-half mile to 4 miles. 
For convenience of discussion the territory is divided into foui fields, 
which lie at varying intervals along the front of Oak Ridge and the 
Santa Susana Mountains, none being yet developed on the slopes of 
South Mountain. Enumerated from west to east they are the Bards- 
dale and the Torrey-Eureka-Tapo fields, on the north flank of Oak 
Ridge; the Pico field, comprising Pico, Dewitt, Towsley, Wiley, 
Rice, and East canyons, along the Santa Susana Mountains; and the 
Elsmere field, containing the Elsmere and Placenta wells, on the 
spurs of the San Gabriel Range. (See PI. V, p. 36.) 

The fields are developed along the axes of the Oak Ridge, Torrey, 
Eureka-Tapo, Pico, and Elsmere anticlines. The Placerita wells are 
quite independent of the others and are located on the northward¬ 
dipping schists of the San Gabriel Range. The formations involved 
are the Sespe (Eocene); Vaqueros (lower Miocene);’and Fernando 
(largely Pliocene). All of these are productive. In addition the 
schists of the San Gabriel Range afford some oil. 

BARDSDALE FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The Bardsdale field, as here described, includes South Mountain and 
Oak Ridge as far east as the vicinity of Chaffee Canyon. As all of 
the proved oil territory in the field lies north of the crest of the range 
the detailed descriptions will deal largely with the northern slopes. 

GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE. 

The South Mountain-Oak Ridge anticline extends the entire length 
of the two ridges from which it receives its name. The axis is well 
down on the northwest slope of the mountains, in most places at a 
distance of less than half a mile from the edge of the Santa Clara 
Valley and locally but a few rods away. At the west the axis dis¬ 
appears beneath the valley filling a few miles from the end of South 
Mountain, leaving the extremity of this ridge wholly on the southern 
limb of the fold. At the east the anticline terminates abruptly 
against the northwest-southeast system of folds that sets in at Chaffee 
Canyon and continues thence eastward to Fernando Pass. 

The trend of the anticlinal axis varies in sweeping curves between 
N. 65° E. and east and west, displaying a certain degree of parallelism 
with the nearer strikes and with at least one structural curve—that on 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY! BARDSDALE FIELD. 


77 


the southern slope of San Cayetano Mountain, north of the Santa 
Clara Valley. While, therefore, the South Mountain-Oak Ridge- 
Santa Susana uplift is undoubtedly an independent unit of structure, 
its development was very probably synchronous with the mountain 
building to the north. Transversely the fold is unsymmetrical at 
nearly all points, the southern limb having much the gentler dip and 
the strata on this side of the axis showing less severity of crumpling 
than those on the north side. The axis of the anticline is also undid a- 
tory, the high points being midway of the length of South Mountain 
and of Oak Ridge. 

A transverse section of the anticline at Sulphur Canyon, which 
practically marks the division of South Mountain from Oak Ridge, 
shows between 1,000 and 2,000 feet of conglomerate, sandstone, and 
shale that are probably Fernando, and at least 500 or 600 feet of chalk 
rock and siliceous shale which have been described as of the Modelo 
type, but concerning the proper stratigraphic reference of which some 
doubt has been expressed. The shale and u chalk rock” occur in 
the axis of the fold, while the conglomerate and its associated strata 
rest unconformably upon its southern flank, forming the higher por¬ 
tions of the ridges and extending far into the Simi Valley. On the 
northern flank the Fernando beds do not appear, the underlying 
shale extending to the Santa Clara Valley. The anticline is some¬ 
what contracted in the region of Sulphur Canyon, and no beds older 
than those of Modelo type outcrop. A short distance to the east and 
west, however, the fold broadens perceptibly and lower formations 
are successively exposed. 

In South Mountain the lowermost beds are red and gray banded 
sandstone and clay, which are tentatively regarded as the partial 
correlative of the Sespe beds north of the Santa Clara, and hence of 
Eocene age. The formation is here especially conspicuous for its 
brilliancy of coloring and the sharp contrasts therein. At least 500 
feet of strata are exposed opposite Santa Paula, but the formation 
occupies the heart of the anticline and its total thickness may be 
much greater. Overlying these are other heavy sandstone and shale, 
resembling in general aspect certain phases of the chocolate-colored 
and gray-banded beds of the Vaqueros formation farther east and 
bearing fossils similar to those of the Vaqueros. Still higher are sili¬ 
ceous shale and “ chalk rock” of the Modelo type, bearing not only 
the customary limestones of that formation, but also several beds of 
fine-grained, gray sandstone. The “ chalk rock ” is somewhat more 
conspicuous in South Mountain than farther east. The formation as 
a whole, however, shows the same general characteristics as in Oak 
Ridge, even to the red, lava-like appearance, the probable result of 
the burning of its petroleum content. The shale, with its brilliant 


78 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


colors, forms the crest of South Mountain, and extends for a consider¬ 
able distance down its western slope. It is succeeded by the Fernando 
formation. 

Minor crumples appear in South Mountain, but in the main the 
direction of dip is to the south, northerly dips being confined prac¬ 
tically to the northern side of the anticline along the edge of the 
Santa Clara Valley. 

East of Sulphur Canyon the anticline rapidly opens, and at Grimes 
Canyon (see PI. Ill, sec. D-D') it attains its greatest development. 
Here are exposed, in consequence, lower rocks than elsewhere—the 
deep-yellow sandstone that has been described as the possible correl¬ 
ative of the rusty beds in the upper portion of the Sespe formation 
north of Santa Clara River. It is overlain by red and gray banded 
beds, except on the north, where the valley has been eroded through 
these beds and into the older strata below. The yellow sandstone is 
also underlain by red and gray beds, as shown by the logs of the wells 
of the Bardsdale Crude Oil Company. Whether or not the heavy 
mass of red sandstone and conglomerate which constitutes the 
greater part of the Sespe formation north of the Santa Clara is present 
here at still greater depths is undetermined. The formations through¬ 
out give evidences of marked change within comparatively short dis¬ 
tances, and it may be that the red beds of the Sespe have practically 
disappeared. 

Overlying the red and gray beds are rocks which have been identi¬ 
fied by their fossils as a portion of the Vaqueros formation, consisting 
of conspicuous and persistent sandstone at the base and summit, and 
chocolate-colored and gray arenaceous shale, with occasional bands of 
limestone between. They bend down over the anticline between 
Garberson and Wiley canyons, and west of a point a little west of the 
mouth of Shields Canyon are adjacent to the Santa Clara Valley. At 
Wiley Canyon the axis of the anticline presents a small core of the 
underlying red and gray beds. The outer body of the Vaqueros dis¬ 
plays a slight syncline, a flexure that is the beginning, perhaps, of the 
more highly disturbed conditions that exist but a short distance 
farther east. A secondary anticline also occurs well up the slope of 
the mountain between Shields and Garberson canyons, with a length 
of slightly over a mile. 

The Vaqueros is easily confused with the Fernando formation, as 
the sandstone and conglomerate of the two formations bear consid¬ 
erable resemblance. It is probable, however, that the Fernando 
does not appear west of Torrey Canyon, but from that point eastward 
it grows in importance to the east end of the Santa Susana Moun¬ 
tains, where it is very prominent. 

Siliceous shale and “ chalk rock” of the Modelo type overlie the 
Vaqueros and form the crest of Oak Ridge for nearly its entire length. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY: BARDSDALE FIELD. 


79 


Although in South Mountain this formation appears to contain minor 
divisions of sandstone, these seem to be wanting in Oak Ridge. On 
the southern slope of the ridge, above the shale and unconformable 
with it, are the Fernando conglomerate, sandstone, and clay. These 
for the most part lie well down the slope of the mountain, but here 
and there reach the crest. 

OIL WELLS. 

UNION AND BARDSDALE CRUDE WELLS. 

A single oil field has been developed in the South Mountain-Oak 
Ridge anticline. It lies opposite Bardsdale, extending along the axis 
of the fold from Grimes Canyon westward for a mile and a half. Two 
companies are operating—the Union Oil Company and the Bardsdale 
Crude Oil Company. The territory of the former is adjacent to 
Grimes Canyon; that of the latter is the westward extension of the 
field. The wells of these companies are sunk in the rusty-yellow 
conglomeratic sandstone described as the lowermost formation of this 
district and possibly of Eocene age. The wells are located along the 
highest portion of the anticline, the elevation of any particular bed 
diminishing in both directions along the axis of the fold. The records 
of the wells indicate that oil is found in the rusty sandstone and in 
the underlying red and gray sandy beds at depths of 300 to 815 feet. 
The total depth of the wells varies from 500 to 1,000 feet. The oil 
is black and its gravity is reported as ranging from 23° to 32° B., the 
average being about 30°. In one instance an oil of about 17° B. was 
encountered. Occasionally water is pumped with the oil, but this is 
exceptional where a good landing stratum is obtained for the casing. 
Such a stratum is usually found among the red bands of the beds 
underlying the rusty sands. These, being generally more argillaceous 
than the gray bands, afford a more nearly water-tight bed. The 
wells of the Union Oil Company have been steady producers for a 
number of years, the decrease reported to the writer being but slight. 
These wells yield a large quantity offgas, which is used entirely for 
fuel. Of the total number of wells the Union Oil Company pumps 
about fifteen, the Bardsdale seven. The foreman of the Union Com¬ 
pany remarks that if the gas be retained in one of the two strings 
pumped by them the wells of the other have an increased product, 
and that if the gas is not taken from the wells the pressure in them 
becomes so great as to hold the oil back. Numerous devices have 
been used for drawing out the oil, one of them being the ordinary 
steam ejector. 

At several other points in the Oak Ridge anticline wells have been 
drilled, but without success. This may be due in part to insufficient 
depth and in part to their location beyond the oil zone. In Garber- 
son Canyon, for instance, a well has been drilled to a depth of over 


80 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


1,800 feet, producing nothing but water. In Shields Canyon, how¬ 
ever, west of Garberson, a trace of oil was found at 500 feet, the total 
depth of the well being 850 feet. The gravity of this oil is said to 
have been 29.5° B., but much water was encountered with it. 

TORREY-EUREKA-TAPO FIELDS. 

LOCATION. 

The district discussed in the following paragraph embraces Oak 
Ridge east of Chaffee Canyon and the western portion of the Santa 
Susana Mountains as far east as the head of Tapo Canyon. Within 
it are three productive areas—those of Torrey, Eureka, and Tapo 
canyons. 

GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE. 

As will be gathered from the description of the geology of the 
Bardsdale district, there is a marked regularity in the stratigraphic 
succession of the formations and in the anticline into which they have 
been thrown from the west end of South Mountain to Chaffee Canyon. 
Here, however, the regularity ends. The region between Chaffee and 
Tapo canyons shows a highly complicated geologic structure, and 
there is great confusion in the stratigraphic succession, resulting from 
the presence of folds and faults and the difficulty of distinguishing 
between formations, owing to a lack of distinctive characteristics in 
the beds and to changes in the relative proportions of the coarse and 
fine sediments from point to point. 

The first break in the regularity that exists to the west appears in 
a small gulch at the foot of Oak Ridge immediately west of Chaffee 
Canyon. At this point the end of what for convenience may be 
termed the Chaffee syncline appears in “chalk rock/’ siliceous shale, 
and limestone that are believed to be of the same formation as similar 
rocks which form so great a portion of the summit of Oak Ridge, 
having been brought into this position, almost at the edge of the val¬ 
ley, by arching over the axis of the Oak Ridge-South Mountain anti¬ 
cline. The general trend of this syncline is about S. 30° E., the dip 
on either side averaging perhaps 35°, although steepening sharply as 
the axis is approached. The syncline increases in prominence as it 
crosses the drainage of Chaffee Canyon, and at the summit of the 
ridge at its head becomes a conspicuous feature in the crest line. 
The details of this syncline have not been gathered in full, but appar¬ 
ently the heavy fossiliferous sandstone which outcrops in bold escarp¬ 
ments in W iley Canyon plunges beneath the axis to reappear on the 
northeast side in the ridge that separates Chaffee and Torrey canyons. 
The conditions observed in Chaffee Canyon suggest that only the 
lower beds of the siliceous shale and u chalk rock ” are involved in the 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY I TORREY-EUREKA-TAPO FIELDS. 81 

fold, although at the southeast end of the syncline, on the south¬ 
ern slope 6f Oak Ridge, a considerably greater thickness has been 
folded in. 

The direction of the Chaffee syncline is at variance with that of 
every other fold that has been observed in the ranges south of Santa 
Clara River. Moreover, it lies between two systems of folds, either 
of which might be said to terminate against it. One of these systems 
includes the anticline traceable from Wiley Canyon westward to the 
end of South Mountain; the other is that passing from the region of 
Torrey Canyon in a S. 65° E. direction to the west end of the Santa 
Susana Mountains. It is worthy of note, too, that the position of the 
Chaffee syncline is nearly in direct line with the principal fault in the 
hills north of the Santa Clara. 

In the region of Torrey and Eureka canyons the geology is extremely 
complicated, but the general facts appear to be as follows: The for¬ 
mations exposed include 150 or 200 feet of red and gray banded 
sandstone and arenaceous clay of the Sespe, about 600 feet of fos- 
siliferous sandstone and chocolate-colored and gray sandstone and 
shale of the Vaqueros, perhaps 400 feet of siliceous shale and chalk 
rock of Modelo type, and a great body of heavy-bedded sandstone 
and conglomerate, in some of which have been found fossils identif sung 
them as the Fernando (Pliocene). These formations are shown in a 
section of Oak Ridge across the Torrey field—the oldest beds at the 
heart of an anticline at the northern edge of the productive area, the 
youngest on the southern slope of the ridge and again at its northern 
base, the siliceous shale and “chalk rock” at the mountain crest, and 
the Vaqueros on the upper and lower middle slopes of the northern 
front. 

The structural lines of the Torrey field have a trend approximating 
N. 65° W., contrasting in this respect with those of Oak Ridge to the 
west and in harmony with those to the east, the dividing line between 
the two systems being the Chaffee syncline, already described. 

The principal fold of the Torrey field (see PI. IV, sec. H-EP) is an 
anticline that crosses the ridge between Torrey and Smith canyons 
at the summit of the easterly grade leading to the developed territory. 
This anticline has not been traced eastward to the edge of the Torrey 
basin, but directly in line with it at this point is a similar fold, which 
is probably its continuation. To the west the anticline crosses Torrey 
Canyon, being particularly conspicuous in its lower slopes, becoming 
less so in the ridge between Torrey and Chaffee canyons, and disap¬ 
pearing to a mere trace in the lower portion of Chaffee Canyon as it 
approaches the Chaffee syncline. The trend of this anticline, which 
may be designated the Torrey, is N. 65° W. The inclination of the 
strata on either limb varies from point to point, but in general may 


82 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


be taken at about 35°. Southward from the axis the dip is compara¬ 
tively regular to a point beneath the summit of Oak Ridge. To the 
north, however, the dip continues but a short distance when it gives 
way to a southerly dip, the syncline thus formed being hardly less 
conspicuous than the anticline itself. 

The formations exposed in the Torrey anticline include, at the axis, 
a small outcrop of red and gray banded beds, believed to be the Sespe 
formation; overlying these is the principal formation of the field, heavy 
sandstone and chocolate-colored and gray-banded shales, which, by 
their fossils, have been identified as lower Miocene (Vaqueros), nearly 
1,000 feet thick; succeeding these, on the south the siliceous shale 
of the Modelo, which forms the crest of Oak Ridge opposite the Torrey 
field, and on the north—the siliceous member apparently being 
wanting—the heavy sandstone and conglomerate that are regarded 
as the Fernando. The Fernando is, however, of small extent in this 
vicinity, becoming prominent in the region of Tapo Canyon and 
attaining its maximum development several miles farther east, oppo¬ 
site Pico Canyon and beyond. 

A second anticline in the Torrey field lies in the lower slopes of the 
hills and is probably the west end of that believed to exist along the 
channel of Eureka Canyon, this, in turn, being continuous with the 
main Tapo anticline farther east. This fold may be seen to advan¬ 
tage in the west wall of Torrey Canyon, midway between its mouth 
and the forks half a mile up. East of this the flexure is not quite so 
pronounced and is, therefore, not so readily and perhaps not so correctly 
defined. Between Eureka and Torrey canyons the axis of the fold 
pitches to the west, while the strike of the beds is generally north and 
south. There is considerable doubt concerning the structure and the 
succession of the strata in Eureka Canyon. At first glance the regu¬ 
larity appears to be unbroken from the crest of Oak Ridge to the outer 
face of the lowermost foothills, the entire cross section, except at the 
summit of the ridge, presenting a southerly dip. From the region of 
Tapo Canyon, however, the main anticline may be traced with only 
slight irregularities to the divide between the Tapo drainage and that 
of Eureka Canyon, but at this point there is a sharp change in the 
position of the strata, as if the anticline had been severely compressed 
and the plane of its axis had been pushed northward with a dip of per¬ 
haps 60° to 90° to the south. (See PI. IV, sec. I-F.) In the higher 
portions of Eureka Ridge, a short distance north of this anticline, 
there is a syncline of secondary importance, which also lias probably 
suffered strong compression. The resultant position assumed by the 
beds thus influenced by the compound flexure described is one of 
southerly dip, with local obliteration of the axes of both folds, and an 
apparent continuous succession of strata from base to summit of the 
mountain. It is evident, however, that if this should prove to be the 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : TOKREY-EUREKA-TAPO FIELDS. 83 


correct structure there is a duplication of beds in the cross section 
referred to. At the mouth of Eureka Canyon there is an exposure 
of Fernando conglomerate and sandstone, bearing fossils identifying 
them with the beds of Packard Hill, near Santa Barbara. Their dip is 
vertical, the change from the southerly dip of the older strata imme¬ 
diately south being somewhat abrupt. This is probably due to uncon¬ 
formity rather than to a structural break. The Eureka-Tapo anti¬ 
cline appears to be coextensive with the Torrey, a mile to the south. 
Neither has been traced from one end to the other, as delineated on 
the map (PI. I), but by reason of the alignment of several folds 
observed independently it is thought that all are parts of a single 
crumple. As in the case of the Torrey anticline, productive territory 
has been developed in proximity to the axis of the Eureka-Tapo fold, 
the western field being that near the mouth of Eureka Canyon, the 
eastern including several branches of Tapo Canyon. 

Between the two anticlines thus described is a syncline which has 
not been traced through from west to east, but which is supposed to 
be continuous, as represented on the map. It may be seen on both 
sides of Torrey Canyon, but in the eastern wall of Smith Canyon the 
fold, which is so pronounced to the west, is considerably obscured, 
perhaps by faulting along its axis. A sharp disturbance of the strata 
is recognizable in a vertical cliff of shale and sandstone directly across 
Smith Canyon from the easterly grade to the Torrey wells. In the 
line of the syncline, also, there is a similar flexure near the summit of 
Oak Ridge, and this in turn is in line with the Tapo syncline, a flexure 
a few hundred yards south of the main anticline in Tapo Canyon. 

There are other folds of minor importance in this region, here and 
there, sharp or even developed into faults of small extent. The larger 
folds that have been described converge near the mouth of Chaffee 
Canyon as they approach the Chaffee syncline. 

The formation chiefly involved in the flexures of the Torrey-Eureka 
region is that of Vaqueros age. To the south in the higher portion of 
Oak Ridge the siliceous shale of Modelo type is also involved in a 
minor degree. On the southern slope of the main ridge, near the 
Torrey road, the general dip, aside from numerous minor crumples, is 
northward, and a short distance north of the outcrop of the Fernando 
formation a sandstone suggesting one of the Vaqueros beds occurs in 
a position not at all out of harmony with the general structure. The 
actual correlation of this bed, however, remains undetermined and it 
has not been indicated on the map. North of the Vaqueros area, at 
the foot of Oak Ridge, is the Fernando, which also is involved in the 
general folding that has-taken place. 

It is possible that faults occur within the area of the folds referred 
to in the foregoing paragraphs. The greatest disturbance appears to 
have been in the line of the syncline separating the Torrey and 


84 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Eureka-Tapo anticlines, in the eastern rim of the Torrey amphi¬ 
theater, the facts pointing to an elevation of the strata north of a 
possible plane of fracture. 

The Tapo anticline is traceable for 3 or 4 miles across the northern 
spurs of the easterly portion of Oak Ridge, its axis lying from one-half 
to two-thirds the distance from base to summit. The general trend 
of the fold is about N. 70° W., the dip of the strata on either side of the 
axis varying between 75° and 85°. The heart of the anticline is occu¬ 
pied by a mass of brown shale and interbedded concretionary sand¬ 
stone. These are believed to be the equivalents of the banded choco¬ 
late-colored and gray sandstones and shales in the vicinity of Wiley 
Canyon and farther west, and, if such is the case, are of Vaqueros age. 
On the other hand, the concretionary phase of the sandstone resem¬ 
bles the lower Modelo formation north of the Santa Clara, but no fossils 
have been found to decide the point. Many of the sandstones of Tapo 
Canyon are highly bituminous, and along the crest of the flexure in 
the several forks occur seepages of petroleum of considerable size. In 
the main canyon, either on the axis or slightly to the south of it, is a 
gas well, but its depth and the horizon from which gas is derived are 
unknown. 

The Tapo anticline appears to die out toward the east in a mass of 
crushed strata at the head of the westernmost branch of Salt Creek on 
Santa Susana Mountain. In a westerly direction the geologic condi¬ 
tions are somewhat uncertain, but in the ridge separating West Tapo 
and Eureka canyons the axis has the appearance of bending rather 
sharply to the north. On the other hand, as already suggested, the 
geology of Eureka Canyon and the adjacent slopes is very complicated, 
and for a definite conclusion concerning the relations of the thousands 
of feet of very similar beds additional field work is necessary. The 
position of the Tapo anticline is but tentatively indicated on the map 

(Pk I). 

Between 100 and 200 yards south of the Tapo anticline is a syn¬ 
cline which is pronounced in the region of the main forks of Tapo Can¬ 
yon, but which west of this disappears in the general crumpling on the 
higher slopes in front of Oak Ridge. In an easterly direction its axis 
approaches that of the anticline, and both are apparently lost in a 
common mass of crumpled strata at the end of the Santa Susana 
Mountains. 

The zone of excessive crumpling, embracing the Torrey and Tapo 
anticlines and their associated synclines, passes from Oak Ridge into 
the west end of the Santa Susana Mountains, in part also crossing the 
crest of the range at the low point opposite the head of Tapo Canyon. 
In the region thus indicated the disposition and succession of the 
strata are very anomalous, and from a topographic standpoint there 
is a distinct offset in the alignment of the two ranges, the west end of 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : TORREY-EUREKA-TAPO FIELDS. 85 


the Santa Susana lying a little farther north than the east end of Oak 
Ridge. The topographic relation of the mountain ridges may be due 
to the development en echelon of successive anticlines, but the anoma¬ 
lies of stratigraphy suggest the presence of a strike fault a little south 
of the Tapo syncline. For instance, in the northern slope of Oak 
Ridge between the Eureka and Tapo drainages, the apparent succes¬ 
sion of beds is quite the reverse of the normal. Both the siliceous 
shale of the Modelo and the chocolate-colored shale and sandstone of 
the Vaqueros maintain a northerly dip, and the inference is that the 
latter are the younger. It is probable, however, that along the line 
indicated there has been displacement, the strata south of the fracture 
plane having been depressed, though to what extent is yet undeter¬ 
mined. This would agree with the explanation already suggested of 
the positions assumed by beds about the head of Smith Canyon. 
South of the Santa Susana Mountains the line of the fault is marked by 
great complexity of strata, it being impossible to recognize horizons 
and, in consequence, the relations of the beds. The fault plane from 
Tapo Canyon eastward appears to lie somewhat diagonal to the gen¬ 
eral trend of the formations; the area of siliceous shale, a prominent 
feature to the west, is diminished almost to disappearance, and the 
difficulty of correctly interpreting the structure is even further 
enhanced by the approach of the line of unconformity between the 
Vaqueros and Modelo beds and the Fernando formation. The Vaque¬ 
ros beds are, however, chiefly involved in the crushing south of the 
range crest. The breadth of the zone of severely crushed and folded 
strata is hardly less than a mile, while its continuity can be traced for 
a distance of at least 10 miles. 

The axis of a somewhat prominent anticline, trending a little south 
of east, passes through the knoll at the southeastern extremity of Oak 
Ridge, about three-fourths of a mile north of the parallel 34° 20' N. 
and 2 miles west of the meridian 118° 40' W. The eastern half of the 
fold involves the Fernando formation, but the western half lies almost 
wholly within the area of siliceous shale, though not far from the north¬ 
ern edge of the Fernando. The general trend of the axis is more 
nearly east and west than the direction assumed by the zone of crum¬ 
pling. These two features therefore diverge toward the west, the zone 
of crushing and fracture turning to the north of Oak Ridge, the anti¬ 
cline passing to the south. 

In addition to the foregoing, there are many other minor crumples 
of greater or less breadth and linear extent, particularly within the 
area of siliceous shale. All have a general direction of S. 70°-85° E., 
but their continuity has not been traced out. 

The formation in the middle fork of Tapo Canyon from which oil 
is derived is a succession of sandstone and shale. The sandstone is 
generally thin bedded, and its proportion to the shale diminishes 
Bull. 309—07-7 



86 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


toward the base of the series. Concretions, some of them compara¬ 
tively large and rounded, characterize certain horizons. The shale is 
for the most part earthy or sandy, but through it may be traced bands 
of harder and in some places even siliceous rock. Limestone concre¬ 
tions are also sparingly present. Both shale and sandstone have been 
more or less impregnated with petroleum, as well as with iron and 
salts of other minerals. Along the axis of the anticline, wherever 
crushing has been particularly severe, occur important seepages of 
petroleum. 

Overlying the thin-bedded sandstone and shale, with compara¬ 
tively sharp passage from the one to the other, is heavy-bedded sand¬ 
stone divided by minor layers of sandy shale. The sandstone is gray 
to yellow in color, although yellow appears to characterize more gen¬ 
erally the lower beds. The sand is coarse and locally gritty or even 
pebble bearing. Well up in the mass conglomerate appears, becoming 
in the outer ridges of the Santa Susana Mountains, a conspicuous fea¬ 
ture in the geology. The sandstone and shale in the lower 1,000 feet 
of this younger formation have been impregnated in varying degree 
with petroleum, and from some of them come seepages, indicating 
considerable richness. From one or another member of this group of 
beds is derived the oil in the producing wells of Tapo Canyon. 

Conformability appears to exist throughout the succession of strata 
above described, from the lowest, encountered in the heart of the anti¬ 
cline, to the highest, observed at the outer edge of the range. It is 
difficult, therefore, to recognize any true basis on which to segregate 
the beds into distinct formations, yet in a broad way they are separa¬ 
ble into a mass of conglomerate and associated heavy-bedded sand¬ 
stone and shale which bear a distinct resemblance to the Fernando of 
other localities in the Santa Clara district on the one hand, and thin- 
bedded sandstone and shale of a siliceous character, which closely 
resemble the banded chocolate-colored and gray shale and sandstone 
farther west in Oak Ridge and the Modelo in the range north of the 
Santa Clara on the other. For the sake of mapping, the dividing line 
has been taken at the lower horizon of the heavier conglomerate in the 
main Tapo Canyon, a quarter to half a mile above its mouth, occurring 
somewhat farther up on the streams to the east and somewhat lower 
down on those to the west. 

OIL WELLS. 

The oil wells in the territory just described comprise, in order from 
west to east, the Torrey, Eureka, and Tapo groups, each being desig¬ 
nated by the canyon in which they are drilled. 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : TORREY-EUREKA El ELDS. 


87 


TORREY WELLS. 

The productive territory of the Torrey anticline, forming what is 
known as the Torrey held, embraces an area of about 1 square mile, 
the length being twice the breadth and lying with the strike of the 
rocks, which gradually bend from N. 65° W., the direction prevailing 
on the side of the flexure, to northwest, north northwest, and north as 
the strata round its end. The axis of the anticline passes close to the 
northern edge of the held, the wells, with a few exceptions, having 
been drilled in the strata of gentler dip, 30° to 40°, south of the axis. 
In all there are between 50 and 60 wells, aligned in seven or eight con¬ 
centric arcs, in accordance with the curves assumed by the outcrop¬ 
ping strata. The wells nearer the axis penetrate the red and gray 
banded argillaceous sandstone that has been correlated with a portion 
of the Sespe formation, while those more distant are perhaps entirely 
confined to the sandstone and shale of the Vaqueros. 

It is said to be usually impossible in this held to identify horizons 
in one well with those in another, even though the two locations are 
adjacent. The oil sands also vary in thickness from a few feet to 150, 
and even the thicker beds, it is reported, can not be identihed from 
well to well. It is, however, the opinion of the writer that consider¬ 
able order might be worked out with the aid of carefully prepared 
cross sections. 

The oil has a gravity of 30° to 35° B. and resembles that derived 
from the same formation north of the Santa Clara, especially that from 
the region of Fourfork and Tar creeks. The depth of the wells varies 
from 600 to 2,000 feet, the deeper wells being those farther away from, 
the axis of the fold. North of the Torrey anticline the productive 
territory is apparently confined to the east end of the field where the 
distance from the syncline immediately north and from the fracture 
possibly accompanying it is greatest. 

Concerning the extent of the Torrey field beyond the present devel¬ 
oped area, it may be said with some degree of assurance that to the 
west and north it is likely to be limited by structural conditions to 
nearly the existing lines. In the other directions no prediction can 
be made. 

EUREKA WELLS. 

The wells of Eureka Canyon are located in its lower reaches, most 
of them being grouped at the sharp turn half a mile above its mouth. 
The geology of the immediate region is somewhat doubtful, but if the 
structure is that of a highly compressed compound fold, as suggested 
on page 82, the locus of the wells is not far from its anticlinal axis; 
moreover, the developed territory is in the vicinity of a prominent 
curve in the stratification planes, the axis having been pushed some¬ 
what northward between Eureka and Torrey canyons. The wells 


88 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


penetrate the Yaqueros sandstone, conglomerate, and shale, but 
whether any of the beds are duplicated it is impossible to determine. 
Such duplication may have taken place, but it has had practically no 
effect on the productiveness of the territory. The wells are located 
a little over a mile north northeast of the Torrey group, the geology 
of the two fields being quite distinct. 

Twenty-one wells were in operation or drilling at the time of the 
writer’s visit. They vary in depth from 600 to 1,200 feet, and the 
strata passed through, according to the logs, embrace sand, arena¬ 
ceous shale, dark, adobe-like clay, and the usual “hard shells” of the 
drillers. The character of the beds varies every 50 to 125 feet in 
depth, but sandstone predominates. Oil sand, so-called, appears to 
be encountered at depths of 540 to 620 feet. Water is found both in 
the upper parts of the wells and beneath the lowermost oil sand re¬ 
corded. Well No. 20, of the group at the turn of the canyon, is the 
only one in which pebbles are reported. These are, perhaps, a local 
development of one of the more prominent sandstones that lie near 
either the summit or the base of the Yaqueros beds. Usually but a 
single oil sand shows in a well, and it is the opinion of the superin¬ 
tendent that the producing horizon is the same throughout the field. 

The gravity of the oil averages, it is said, 24° B., but in some 
instances rises to 26°. This difference, as compared with the Torrey 
oil, is inexplicable, for both are believed to be derived from the same 
formation. Their horizons, however, may be different, and in the 
Eureka field the sediments appear to be coarser, while the strata are 
far more fractured, if the interpretation of the geology here given is 
correct. The latter feature would tend to permit the easier escape of 
the lighter hydrocarbons, leaving behind the heavier oils, which now 
constitute the product. 

The yield has been from 1 to 40 barrels per day. The field has, 
however, never been one of large production, but from the records the 
wells appear to have maintained their supply with remarkable uni¬ 
formity. The log of one of these wells is appended: 


Lo<j of well in Eureka Canyon. 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Sandy shale and “adobe”. 

Feet. 

Feet . 

50 

Gravel, with water. 

25 

75 

Dark, black ‘ ‘ adobe ”. 



Arenaceous shale. 

125 

475 

Soft sand. 

50 

595 

Blue, caving shale, with thin sands interlaminated, becoming solid at .iso feet 

35 

570 

“Hard shell,” this marking the top of the oil sand, according to the driller’s statement 
At this point, also, water is shut off... 

15 

10 

5R5 

Oil sand. 

505 

Water sand with gravel distributed through it (abundance of water, no oil) 

245 

1 AO 

840 
i non 

Soft, blue sandy shale. 

Coarse gravel (water). 

197 

1,127 



























SANTA CLARA VALLEY: TAPO FIELD. 89 

No evidence of the red and gray banded series of probable Eocene 
age lias been found in any of the holes in this field. 

TAPO WELLS. 

Wells have been drilled in the main fork of Tapo Canyon and also 
in each branch of a westerly tributary. Those at present producing 
lie along the east fork of this tributary. They are four in number, 
although from their designation, Nos. 12 to 15 inclusive, it is to be 
inferred that several others have been in existence in earlier days. 
Indeed, one or two of these old wells still contain a slight amount of 
oil. The producing wells are sunk in northward-dipping sandstone 
and shale a mile north of the axis of the Tapo anticline. They yield 
at present from 5 to 40 barrels of oil per day. The gravity is 20° to 
24° B., the 20° oil being produced by the well highest up in the canyon 
and lowest as to the strata penetrated. These wells are about 200 
feet apart and range in depth from 460 to 1,200 feet. The oil sand is 
encountered at 235, 465, 940, and 865 feet, from the well farthest up 
the creek to that lowest down, respectively. The wells lowest on the 
dip are the greatest producers. The dip of the measures is from 50° 
to 60°, and it is impossible to say that a single bed produces oil for the 
entire field, although this is suggested by the increasing depths of the 
wells in the direction of the dip. More or less water is pumped with 
the oil, and it is the opinion of the superintendent that the two are 
mined and come from the same bed. The amount of water, how¬ 
ever, is slight, the proportion being given as 1 of water to 40 of oil. 
Inasmuch as water-bearing sands overlie the oil sands it may be that 
a leak occurs which would account for its presence with the oil. 
Water was also found beneath the oil sand in the well farthest up the 
gulch and has been encountered in some of the wells now abandoned. 
All the wells yield gas, the deeper the well the greater the quantity. 

The whole of the lower half of the Vaqueros strata exposed in Tapo 
Canyon shows a greater or less impregnation with petroleum. No 
unusual amount appears to have been assembled in proximity to the 
axis of the main anticline, and it may be that the productive territory 
is a particularly rich portion of the series of beds which, from some 
cause or other, has held its oil better than the great mass of the beds 
in the region. From the surface no reason can be seen for the enrich¬ 
ment of one portion of the formation over another portion, and except 
for strong seepages in proximity to the wells one locality might as 
readily have been chosen for development as another. 

The logs of the Tapo wells show a succession oi blue clay, brown 
shale, gray sandstone, fine to coarse, and in one instance a trace of 
conglomerate. The thicknesses of these several materials, which are 
constantly repeated, vary from 5 to 200 or more feet, the average 
being, perhaps, between 20 and 75 feet. 


90 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


PICO FIELDS. 

LOCATION. 

The Pico district, the western part of what is popularly known as 
the “Newhall district,” comprises the region of the Santa Susana 
Mountains from Tapo Canyon to Fernando Pass. The Newhall dis¬ 
trict is divided into the Pico and Elsmere districts for the purpose of 
this discussion, the geologic conditions in the two subdistricts being 
quite different. 

GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE. 

In the body of the Santa Susana Mountains there are many flex¬ 
ures in the siliceous shale of the Modelo and in the shale and heav}^ 
sandstone of the Vaqueros. Certain of these flexures along the 
northern front of the range have become of primary economic impor¬ 
tance from the development of rich oil-bearing territory adjacent to 
their axes. With these alone the following pages have to do. (See 
PI. IV, secs. J-J', K-K', L/'-L-L', and M"-M-M'.) 

Chief among such folds is one which may be designated the Pico 
anticline. This extends for perhaps 10 miles along the northern 
front of the range. Its trend is N. 60° W. and the strata on the 
southern limb dip 25° to 30°, on the northern limb 50° to 70°. At 
the west the anticline originates in the divide between the waters 
of Pico and Salt canyons. The east end passes out of the range a 
mile or so south of Fernando Pass, the actual terminus being appar¬ 
ently in the foothills of the San Gabriel Range, or in the valley edge 
immediately adjacent. The axis of the anticline may be seen in 
any of the canyons of the Santa Susana Mountains draining to the 
Santa Clara. (See PI. IX, B.) Its trend is somewhat irregular, 
though in its entirety the fold maintains the direction given very 
closely. In the hills between Dewitt and Pico canyons a minor 
fold of the same nature branches off to the north, but this in few 
places amounts to more than a pronounced pucker in the beds 
affected by it. The Pico anticline is traceable at least to Wiley 
Canyon, and perhaps even to the forks of Rice and Gavin canyons. 
South of the main fold is a syncline which parallels it for its entire 
length. This originates at the west at about the same point as the 
anticline, in a mass of highly crumpled strata in the divide between 
Pico and Salt canyons. After a divergent course of 2 or 3 miles the 
anticline and syncline lie parallel with each other to the San Fer¬ 
nando A alley. At certain points along the syncline, as, for instance, 
at the head of Pico Canyon, there is some evidence that faulting 
has taken place immediately to the south, the strata south of the 
fault plane being downthrown and the plane itself inclined at an 
angle ol 50 to 70 . I he evidence, however, was not followed up, 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. IX 



.4. OVERTURN IN VAQUEROS FORMATION, WEST SIDE OF PICO CANYON, LOS 

ANGELES COUNTY. 



B. PICO ANTICLINE, PICO CANYON, LOS ANGELES COUNTY. 



























































SANTA CLARA VALLEY: PICO FIELDS. 


91 


and on the map (PL I) the syncline is in the main given as unbroken. 
The similarity between this fold and the Tapo anticline is worthy of. 
remark. In each case there is a principal anticlinal fold, with a par¬ 
allel syncline on the south, and faults and a highly crushed zone in 
one instance and perhaps also in the other still farther south. The 
position of the Pico anticline is en echelon with that of the Tapo to 
the west and also with that of the Elsmere to the east, all being: 
somewhat diagonal in trend to the general direction assumed by the 
ranges. 

The strata involved in the folds described above and underlying 
the adjacent regions include a heavy deposit, presumably of lake 
beds, in the low hills about the junction of Santa Clara River and 
its tributary, Newhall Creek; conglomerate, sandstone, and clay of 
the Fernando, of a horizon possibly somewhat younger than that of 
the Fernando beds that lie immediately east of the mouth of Piru 
Creek; and a succession of brown and chocolate-colored shale, com¬ 
paratively thin interbedded sandstone, and local conglomerate, 
which will doubtless prove to be of lower Miocene (Vaqueros) age, 
of the same horizon as the beds of similar nature in the region of 
Torrey and Tapo canyons and in the northern front of Oak Ridge 
farther west. The assumption that the beds last mentioned are 
lower Miocene is, in the absence of fossils, based on their lithologic 
resemblance to those of other localities in which determinative forms 
occur, on the presence of organic siliceous shale here and there in the 
beds of chocolate-brown color and of more earthy character, and on 
the occurrence of concretionary bodies, round to elliptical, in the 
sandstone of the formation. The shale and sandstone regarded as 
Vaqueros are confined to the heart of the anticline and to the regions 
adjacent which are affected by the subordinate folds in connection 
therewith. They occupy the entire front of the range to their line 
of union with the Fernando beds near the base. 

The Fernando formation displays marked regularity of strike and 
dip, and from any of the high points within the range may be seen 
arching about the foothills from the vicinity of Newhall across Pico 
Canyon to the mouth of Salt Creek, bending in its trend from N. 
50° W. to N. 75° W. A conspicuous feature of this formation is a 
great mass of bluish-gray clay that occurs a short distance above its 
base. It is particularly strong of outcrop in Road Gulch, perhaps 
on account of the gentle dip and wide erosion of this portion of the 
formation. The conglomerate which overlies this clay is heavily 
developed in beds from 50 to 300 feet thick. 

The line between the Fernando formation and the beds regarded 
as Vaqueros is placed at the horizon of the uppermost brown or 
chocolate-colored shale. Conglomerate extends below this horizon, 
but not of the importance attained by those above. The manner 


92 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


of its occurrence is somewhat perplexing, for it is interspersed among 
the chocolate-colored shale and does not show the individuality of 
the two zones of heavy conglomerate that lie at the base and summit 
of this formation in the region of Wiley and other canyons to the 
west. Unconformity between the two formations probably exists, 
although angular discrepancies were not detected at any point in 
the Pico region. The absence, however, of the heavy mass of sili¬ 
ceous shale between the Vaqueros and the Fernando beds along the 
lower northern slopes of the Santa Susana Mountains is noteworthy. 
South of the Oak Ridge-South Mountain anticline, in the lofty upper 
escarpments, this shale attains a thickness of 300 to 500 feet and 
separates the Vaqueros from the Fernando conglomerate and sand¬ 
stone on the southern slopes of the mountains. The absence of the 
siliceous shale in one locality and its presence in the other, not¬ 
withstanding the short interval between the two,* suggest uncon¬ 
formity between the Fernando and the underlying beds. Moreover, 
there are several areas over which distinct unconformity is observable. 



Fig. 10.—Section through Fryers Peak east of Fryer’s ranch. Dots represent sandstone; fine lines, 

shale; a, b, beds of shale. 

The Pico anticline has proved one of the most productive folds in 
the Santa Clara A alley. It exhibits marked regularity; the fold 
maintains a comparatively uniform elevation from west to east for 
nearly its entire length, and the beds involved are of uniform texture 
and uniformly disposed with reference to one another and to the 
axis of the fold. The inference seems natural, therefore, that such 
conditions would be favorable to the extended field that has been 
developed. 

d he northern slope of the Santa Susana Mountains presents con¬ 
siderable regularity in the succession of beds from the crest nearly 
to the line of the Pico oil field, but to the south of the crest, especially 
m the area opposite the Salt Creek drainage and the more easterly 
tributaries of the Tapo, there is a conspicuous crumpling in a zone 
half a mile wide, trending N. 70° W. The most severe crushing is to 
be seen immediately beneath the summit of the range, where in the 












SANTA CLARA VALLEY: PTCO FIELDS. 


93 


chocolate-colored shale and its accompanying sandstone of the Vaque- 
ros two or three anticlines, with their intervening synclines, occur 
in close succession; indeed, surface conditions suggest faulting similar 
to that shown in fig. 10. Within this zone or possibly slightly south 
of it is a dry well, the depth of which is unknown to the writer. The 
linear extent of the zone is unknown, but disturbance of the strata 
may be detected as far as the divide between the Simi and San Fer¬ 
nando valle}^s, and this series of fractures may prove continuous 
with the great fault suggested by the Whitney survey as south of at 
least the eastern half of the Santa Susana Range. 

It is very evident that there is a pronounced unconformity be¬ 
tween the Fernando conglomerate, sandstone, and clay and the older 
formations of Miocene, Eocene, and Cretaceous age south of the Santa 
Susana Mountains. The line dividing the Fernando from the older 
formations is, however, indicated only in a general way on the map, 
for the region was not studied with a view to geologic detail, being 
somewhat beyond the areas of developed oil fields. 

PRODUCTIVE FIELDS OF THE PICO DISTRICT. 

The productive fields of tne Santa Susana Mountains, enumerated 
from west to east, include those of Pico, Dewitt, Towsley, Wiley, 
Rice, and East canyons, all on the northern slope. With the excep¬ 
tion of those in Dewitt Canyon, which are apparently on a secondary 
crumple, all are ranged along the main Pico anticline, some to the 
north, others to the south of the axis. The anticline apparently 
maintains a uniform elevation except at the extremities, where it 
pitches east and west, respectively. This uniformity of level may 
account for the fact that the anticline has been found productive for 
so large a proportion of its length. This is in marked contrast to 
the development along the Oak Ridge anticline, the axis of which is 
decidedly undulating and which has been proved productive only 
at its point of maximum elevation opposite the town of Bardsdale. 
Doubtless many other factors enter into the explanation of the rela¬ 
tive productiveness of the two anticlines, but the conditions above 
mentioned are to be considered in any attempt to account for it. 

Only a single formation, the Vaqueros, is present in the productive 
oil fields of the Santa Susana Mountains. Its correlation is based 
on lithologic similarity to recognized lower Miocene beds of other 
localities, no fossils having yet been found in it in this district. The 
strata include a large proportion of brown argillaceous and arena¬ 
ceous shale, much interbedded sandstone, and considerable con¬ 
glomerate. Brown and white bands, a feature characteristic of this 
formation from Chaffee Canyon westward, are far less conspicuous 
in front of the Santa Susana Mountains, but conglomerate has a 
much greater development. As elsewhere, the shale includes at 


94 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

short intervals thin strata of a siliceous nature and limestones that 
are more or less concretionary. The sandstones and sandy shales 
are also concretionary, and here and there a bed may be found which 
bears a striking resemblance, except for thickness, to the lower Modelo 
sandstone north of the Santa Clara. The entire series has been more 
or less impregnated with bitumen, to which is probably due, in a 
large degree at least, its brown color. Except for local variation in 
the materials composing these beds, there is considerable regularity 
in their appearance as a whole, and the general succession is com- 
.paratively well maintained from one end of the region to the other. 
The local irregularities in composition, however, render it next to 
impossible to correlate the logs of wells a mile or more apart along 
the anticline. The dips are steep in many places, yet the crushing 
that is found in the region of Tapo and Torrey canyons is here 
wanting. 

OIL WELLS. 

PICO CANYON WELLS. 

9 

The wells of Pico Canyon, which belong to the Pacific Coast Oil 
Company, are'located not far from the west end of the Pico anticline, 
which terminates in the divide between Pico and Salt canyons. In 
the western half of the productive territory the axis of the fold has 
a distinct pitch to the west. Between 40 and 50 wells have been 
drilled in the field, some more productive than others, but nearly all 
yielding at least a few barrels of oil. With the exception of three at 
the upper forks of the canyon, all are on the northern limb of the 
anticline, not far distant from the axis. They are sunk not only in 
the canyon, but even on the summits of the sharp knobs on either 
side of the gorge, the lowest and highest having a difference in eleva¬ 
tion of 700 feet. The depth of the wells varies from 600 to 3,000 
feet. The logs were not ascessible to the writer, but the superin¬ 
tendent stated that no two holes showed the same succession of beds 
and that it was impossible to distinguish horizons as between wells. 
It is also stated that there is no clearly defined horizon at which oil 
occurs. As an instance, it is reported that of three wells nearly in 
line of strike, in beds of approximately the same amount of dip, and 
within a distance of but a few hundred feet, one afforded a certain 
oil at a depth of 1,600 feet, another a like oil at 1,200 feet, while the 
third, midway between the other two, was 1,900 feet deep' and 
showed not a trace of oil. The superintendent under whose direc¬ 
tion the wells had been drilled suggests the possibility that the oil 
passes from one horizon to another; this is not contrary to one or 
two observed occurrences, where beds impregnated with asphalt, 
originally petroleum, have been exposed. Of the many wells in this 
canyon the three south of the anticlinal axis are said not to be so 


SANTA CL ATI A VALLEY: PICO FIELDS. 


95 


productive as those on the north, yet other factors may enter into 
this difference besides the mere positions of the wells. The general 
strike of the beds in the Pico field is about N. 55°-60° W. The. dip 
north of the axis is about 55°, south of the axis 65°, though locally 
on each side it is 80°. 

The average production of the wells at the present time is from 12 to 
25 barrels, although a few yield but 1 to 5 barrels. At the start some 
wells produced as high as 80 barrels, gradually dropping to the steady 
average maintained at the present day. The oil is green in color and 
its gravity 38° to 40° B. It occurs in sandstone, conglomerate, and 
shale, but apparently the texture of the bed is without influence on 
the oil. The age of this held, or the life of its oldest well, is about 
twent - v-eight ye ars. 

DE WITT CANYON WELLS. 

The wells of Dewitt Canyon are but three in number. It is re¬ 
ported that although they afford a slight amount of oil, the yield has 
never warranted operating. The well in the main canyon is located 
immediately south of the axis of what is apparently a secondary fold 
thrown off to the north from the Pico anticline, midway between the 
Pico field and Dewitt Canyon. The other two wells were not visited 
by the writer, but probably lie somewhat to the north of the axis of 
this fold. The formation penetrated is principally the brown shale 
of the Vaqueros. The strike of the axis of the branch anticline is 
more nearly east and west than that of the main fold to the south. 
The beds south of the axis dip 40°, and those north of the axis 45° 
to overturned. The well in the main canyon is said to have pro¬ 
duced 1 barrel of black oil a day, of a gravity of 20° B. 

The subordinate anticline on which the Dewitt wells are located 
may be traced eastward as far as Wiley Canyon, but no further 
developments have taken place along it, and its appearance is in many 
places that of a mere crumple rather than of a well-formed fold. 

TOWSLEY CANYON WELLS. 

In Towsley Canyon 6 or 7 wells have been drilled, all but 1 being 
near the axis of the Pico anticline. Three of the wells lie on the 
southern slope of the fold, the remainder on the northern slope. The 
strike of the beds is about N. 55° W. The northerly dip varies from 
25° to 65°, the southerly from 25° to vertical and overturned. The 
wells near the axis of the fold yield oil, water, and gas, the 3 north of 
the axis producing somewhat in excess of those south of it; all, how¬ 
ever, are small. One well, at a distance of about half a mile south of 
the axis, is dry. Seepages of oil occur on the axis on both sides of the 
canyon. The strata in the heart of the anticline are brown shale 
interbedded with siliceous shale and carrying hard yellow silico-cal- 
careous beds more or less in the form of concretions. The gravity of 
the oil in this canyon is 26° B. 


I 


96 OIL DISTRICTS OP SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

WILEY CANYON WELLS. 

The wells of Wiley Canyon lie 200 or 300 feet south of the anti¬ 
clinal axis. The Pacific Coast Oil Company drilled 13 wells in this 
canyon ranging from 600 to 1,626 feet in depth®. Only 3, however, 
were found productive. The gravity of the oil is reported to be 30° B. 
At the time of the writer’s visit to the locality the Wiley Canyon wells 
were idle. 

RICE CANYON WELLS. 

The producing wells of Rice Canyon include 2 of the Pacific Coast 
Oil Company and 6 belonging to W. P. Rice. The Pacific Coast wells 
are in the bottom of the canyon, the Rice wells on the hill to the east. 
All are in brown shale bearing gray-yellow concretions of limestone. 
These wells lie on the south limb of the Pico anticline, comparatively 
near the axis. The dip on this side is 22° to 35°, on the north side 
25° to 75°. The crest of the anticline over an area 100 yards wide is 
considerably crumpled. The Rice wells vary in depth from 825 to 
1,600 feet. They yield gas, oil, and water. In No. 5, the deepest 
well at the time of the writer’s visit, oil sands are reported at 800 and 
1,550 feet. The yield of the wells is small. 

Farther up Rice Canyon, one-half mile above the sharp turn from 
east to north, is the Newhall well, 1,500 feet deep, but without oil. 
The strike of the beds is here N. 65° W. and the dip 60° S. The well 
is only about 100 feet north of the axis of the Pico syncline, which 
lies parallel with the anticline at a distance of half a mile. The 
strata penetrated by this well are sandstone, with some shale. The 
horizon is considerably higher than that of the Rice wells. 

EAST CANYON WELLS. 

There are only a few wells in East Canyon, and but little informa¬ 
tion is available concerning them. Of the two observed by the 
writer, one is about 400 feet south of the axis of the Pico anticline, in 
heavy brown shale; the other about an equal distance north, in strata 
much the same. The southern well is known as the Bradshaw and is 
said to have yielded a small amount of black oil. The one north of 
the axis is reported dry. 

ELSMERE FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The Elsmere field comprises that portion of the Newhall district 
lying east of Newhall Creek and extending as far east as Los Pinetos 
Canyon. The productive territory is confined to the northwest end 
of the San Gabriel Range, which terminates at Fernando Pass and 
Newhall Creek. 

a Watts, w. L., Oil and gas yielding formations of California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau 
No. 19, 1900, p. 69. 






SANTA CLARA VALLEY: ELSMERE FIELD. 


97 


GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE. 

At Fernando Pass, the low point between the Santa Snsana and 
San Gabriel mountains, there is a break in geologic continuity. The 
Elsmere anticline, described below, forms another step in the en eche¬ 
lon development exhibited by the Torrey, Tapo, and Pico anticlines 
farther west. The Elsmere fold, however, is hardly more than a 
secondary flexure of gentle curvature on the western flank of the San 
Gabriel Range. 

The formations involved in the Elsmere field include a vast body of 
granite and schist, probably of Jurassic age; chocolate-colored shale, 
sandstone, and minor beds of conglomerate bearing characteristic 
fossils of the Vaqueros formation; the Fernando (Pliocene) con¬ 
glomerate, sandstone, and clay; and certain Pleistocene gravel, sand, 
and clay, already mentioned in the description of the Pico anticline, 
that occupy what appears to have been an old lake basin coincident 
with the present valley of the Santa Clara in the vicinity ofNewhall 
and Saugus. 

The granite and schist occupy the heart of the San Gabriel Range; 
the other formations, except the lake beds, encircle its west end. 
Although the San Gabriel Range is probably the result of faulting 
there is in the encircling Tertiary rocks at least one anticlinal flexure, 
the Elsmere. This anticline has been developed in somewhat unsym- 
metrical form, the axis lying well toward the southern side of the fold. 
(See PI. IV, sec. The elevation of the strata north of the 

axis is maintained by minor flexures, until at a distance of a mile or 
more the beds drop beneath the level of the lower hills and pass to the 
east, with a N. 70° E. strike and a dip of 25°-30° N. The syncline 
separating the Elsmere anticline from the Pico fold is suggested in the 
curves of the strata in the creek southwest of Newhall and in one or 
two minor crumples in the Fernando formation higher in the hills. 
In the Vaqueros beds on the Santa Susana side there are two folds 
having a general trend of N. 60°-70° W. One is the eastern terminus 
of the Pico anticline and the other of the svncline to the south. These 
folds do not appear east of the Southern Pacific Railroad, their trend 
carrying them at this point into the San Fernando Valley, beneath the 
level of which the anticline sinks. The Fernando formation, lying 
between the two bodies of Vaqueros east of the railroad, maintains a 
southwesterly to southerly dip, except immediately north of the axis 
of the Elsmere anticline, in proximity to the more northerly body of 
Vaqueros. The relations of the Fernando to the underlying strata are 
extremely irregular and the details of the unconformity have not been 
worked out. About the northern base of the San Gabriel Range, 
however, east of the railroad, this unconformity is readily discernible. 


98 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


It is particularly marked in the varying beds upon which the Fer¬ 
nando rocks rest, showing that the earlier beds of this formation were 
deposited across the upturned edges of the Vaqueros. 

The source of oil in the Elsmere anticline is in part, doubtless, from 
the sandstone and conglomerate immediately overlying the Vaqueros, 
but the numerous wells in Elsmere Canyon draw their supplies from 
Vaqueros strata. 

OIL WELLS. 

The Elsmere oil field is developed in the broad sweep of the strata 
about the west end of the Elsmere anticline. The companies operat¬ 
ing, named in order from south to north, include the Enterprise, 
Zenith, Eureka Crude, Pearl, Santa Ana, and Pacific Coast. The 
Pacific Coast wells are confined chiefly to the slopes and bottom of 
Elsmere Canyon, although a few are ranged along the crest and west¬ 
ern face of Elsmere Ridge. The Santa Ana Company has three wells 
high up on the north point of this ridge, while the wells of the other 
companies are ranged along a tributary of Newhall Creek, west of 
Elsmere Ridge, in proximity to the Los Angeles wagon road. Roughly, 
the wells are ranged concentrically about the anticline, the Enter¬ 
prise, Pearl, and Zenith lying farthest out and to the west, the wells of 
Elsmere Ridge in a circle somewhat within these, and those of the 
Pacific Coast Oil Company in Elsmere Canyon nearest the heart of 
the fold. In addition to the above Nettleton & Kellerman have a 
group of three wells a little farther north and the New Century and 
Freeman & Nelson oil companies a few wells in Placerita Canyon, 5 
miles east of Newhall. The well of the California Oil Company, high 
up on the slopes of the San Gabriel Range, is said to penetrate a few 
feet of still older beds of the Vaqueros and then to pass into granite. 

ENTERPRISE, PEARL, AND ZENITH WELLS. 

The Enterprise well and one of the Pearl Oil Company near by, 
both but a few feet south of the axis of the anticline, are said to be 
between 800 and 1,000 feet deep and to have failed to find oil. The 
Zenith Company, one-half mile north, has two wells which penetrate 
yellow sand of considerable stability; running sand, soft, blue, and 
bearing cobbles; blue shale or adobe, as it is called by the drillers; 
and at the bottom of the wells, 600 to 630 feet below the surface, other 
sands, together with a few “ hard shells.” The supply is derived from 
the lowermost sands of these wells, beneath about 230 to 270 feet of 
“ adobe.” The production of the wells was at first 15 barrels per day, 
but is now 10 barrels. The gravity of the oil is 19° B. 

Two other wells of* the Pearl Oil Company, adjacent to the Zenith 
wells, have a depth of 665 and 720 feet. The deeper is as yet unfin¬ 
ished. Adobe is reported in it from 370 feet down. In the other 


SANTA CLARA VALLEY : ELSMERE FIELD. 


99 


well an oil sand was encountered at 570 feet, but not until 600 feet 
was reached did the yield become sufficient to justify pumping. In 
this well sand and cobbles are reported nearly all the way down, 
although it is probable that in the lower portion some adobe or clay 
was encountered. It is almost certain that the adobe reported in this 
locality is but a clay body of considerable extent held in the sandstone 
and conglomerate. It may, however, correspond in a measure to the 
great body of blue clay observed in Pico Canyon between the lowest 
conglomerate of the Fernando formation and those next higher. 
Other wells were in process of drilling by these companies, but were 
unfinished at the time of the writer’s visit. 

ELSMERE RIDGE WELLS. 

The depth of the wells on the crest of Elsmere Ridge (see PLVII, B) 
is said to be approximately 1,000 feet, but the information is some¬ 
what indefinite. They are sunk in heavy sandstone and conglomerate 
which strike with the crest of the ridge, north and south, and dip 
25° W. The source of the oil is probably near the base of the Fer¬ 
nando beds, and the production is not heavy. The gravity of the oil 
is reported as about 14° B. 

ELSMERE CANYON WELLS. 

Of the 15 wells in Elsmere Canyon, which belong to the Pacific 
Coast Oil Company, but little was learned. Seven were said to be pro¬ 
ductive, yielding from 7 to 75 barrels a day. They are reported to 
range from 400 to nearly 1,000 feet in depth. Soon after the writer’s 
visit (1902) the company abandoned its property in this field. 

NETTLETON & KELLERMAN, WELLS. 

In the shallow gulch immediately north of Elsmere Canyon, per¬ 
haps a mile distant from the Elsmere wells, is a group of three wells 
owned by Nettleton & Kellerman. Two of these are unproductive, 
the other yields 10 barrels per day, deriving its supply from a depth of 
1,100 feet. The gravity of the oil is 20° B. The strike of the meas¬ 
ures is here N. 70° E. and the dip 23° N. The source of the oil is 
probably one of the lower members of the Fernando formation. 

WELL SOUTH OF RIDGE CREST. 

On the southern slope of the San Gabriel Range, about a mile east- 
southeast of Fernando Pass, is a well drilled near a brea deposit. It 
is abandoned and its history was not investigated. It is located on 
the outcrop of the Fernando formation, but if any considerable depth 
was reached it may have passed into Vaqueros beds. 


100 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


PLACE RITA CANYON WELLS. 


Perhaps the most remarkable of all the oil fields, of California is an 
area of insignificant size in Placerita Canyon, 5 miles east of Newhall. 
The oil here is almost a naphtha, and its gravity is said to be above 50°. 
The yield is very slight. The remarkable feature in connection with 
the oil is its occurrence in crystalline schist which overlies the San 
Gabriel granite and which is in turn overlain at no great distance from 
the wells by rocks that are believed to be of the Fernando formation. 
Oil was discovered in shafting for gold. 

The schist in which the oil occurs is micaceous and granitic, con¬ 
spicuously banded, and greatly contorted. It strikes approximately 
N. 70° W. and dips 50°-80° N. The accompanying diagram (fig. 11) 
indicates the position of the wells. There are six in all, the three on 
the north belonging to the New Century Company and those on the 
south to Freeman & Nelson. The New Century wells are nearer the 

Fernando sandstone and con¬ 
glomerate, which approach 
within a few feet. It is said 
that one of these wells spout¬ 
ed high and that another 
barely flowed. The deepest 
well of the six is the southern¬ 
most of the Freeman & Nel¬ 
son group, which attained a 
depth of 1,030 feet. Oil is 
reported in this well at 410, 
613, and 682 feet. It is said 
to yield 5 or 6 barrels per 
day, with 30 or 40 barrels of 
water to each barrel of oil. 

In a tributary of Placerita Canyon, three-fourths of a mile east of 
the wells described above and in the same schist, is the Pioneer well, 
1,100 feet deep. It struck oil, but the yield could not be learned. 
The granite lies about three-fourths of a mile south of this well. 

The presence of oil under conditions similar to those that exist here 
is perhaps unknown in any other part of the world. It occurs from 
400 to 1,000 feet beneath the surface in a steeply dipping and close- 
textured crystalline schist. That a reservoir, even though small, 
exists m such rocks must be due, it would seem, to the fracturing of 
the schist, the natural result of the severe contortion to whicn it has 
been subjected. If the oil originated in the schist, or rather in the 
sediments from which tlie schist was metamorphosed, it is beyond 
comprehension that it should have remained in them under the tre- 
mcndous pressuie and heat to which the strata have unquestionably 



Fig. 11.— Sketch map showing location of Placerita 
Canyon wells, 5 miles east of Newhall. Heavy dots, 
wells. Figures indicate numbers and depths of wells. 






SANTA CLARA VALLEY : ELSMERE FIELD. 


101 


been subjected. Indeed, it seems to be an impossibility that such 
can be the history of its development. Moreover, the gravity of the 
oil, between 50° and 60° B., is equally enigmatical. Even if it was 
originally a high-gravity oil, the lighter hydrocarbons would have been 
the first to be given off in the heat, pressure, and fracturing to which 
the rocks have been subjected, and if anything remained it should 
have been the asphaltic or paraffin residue. It may be that the oil is 
of later origin or, in any event, that it was for a time stored in another 
reservoir, perhaps of Vaqueros age, possibly even of Fernando age. It 
is possible that from such a reservoir the light oil, already from some 
cause separated from the heavy oil, may have found its way between 
the two formations and penetrated the crystalline rocks through one 
of their fractured zones. 


Bull. 309—07-8 


THE PUENTE HILLS OIL DISTRICT, SOUTHERN 

CALIFORNIA. 


By George Homans Eldridge. 


INTRODUCTION. 

In the following report it is proposed to describe briefly the geology 
and structure of the Puente Hills, especial attention being given to 
those features which appear to have a bearing on the occurrence of 
petroleum in the different fields of the district. The reader is referred 
to Mr. Arnold’s report on the Los Angeles district (pp^ 138-142) for 
information concerning the previous knowledge of the region and for 
a bibliography of publications relating to it. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

Acknowledgments are due to the various oil companies and their 
managers in the different fields for assistance in various ways and for 
information given by them during the course of the work. Thanks 
are due more particularly to Mr. Fred T. Perris, manager of the Santa 
Fe Railway oil properties; to Mr. E. A. Bacon, of the Murphy Oil 
Company; to Messrs. Graham and Loftus, of the Graham-Loftus Oil 
Company; to Mr. R. N. Bulla, of the Central Oil Company, and to 
Mr. Dan Murphy, of the Brea Canyon Oil Company. Uniform cour¬ 
tesy has been shown by those in control of the different properties in 
this district, all, without an exception, furnishing any information 
requested. 

LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY. 

The Puente Hills, along the southern face of which has been devel¬ 
oped one of California’s most productive oil territories, are situated in 
the southwest corner of the State, beginning at a point about 12 
miles slightly south of east of Los Angeles and extending in a general 
east-southeasterly direction for 22 miles to Santa Ana River. They 
cover an area, roughly, of about 140 square miles. The western 
and northern parts of the hills lie in Los Angeles County; the south¬ 
eastern part is divided between San Bernardino County on the north 
and Orange County on the south. They are situated but 35 miles 
from San Pedro, the principal deep-water harbor of southern California, 


102 




f 



BULLETIN NO.309 PL.X 


THE PUENTE HILLS, CALIFORNIA 

1 ' * A 4 A ' ' 1 A_ 


Scale 626oo 


p IcilometeT's 


miles 


Contour interval 20 
smean-i 
19 06. 


Datum ismean sea level 


U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


Topography by U 5 Geological Survey, 


GEOLOGIC 


Geology by George H.EIdndge -1902 




LEG END 


Gravel 


i 


Fernando 




Diabase 



Strike and dip 


Axis of syncliite 

▲ 

~r 

Axis of anticline 



PUENTE FORMATION 
































































































































PUENTE HILLS*. PUENTE FORMATION. 


103 


Llie Puente Hills are the northwestern extension of the Santa Ana 
Mountains, from which, however, they are now separated by the deep 
canyon of Santa Ana River, with a fault, perhaps, as an interruption 
to the present continuity of structure. The general trend of the hills 
is west-northwest. Their highest point, 1,780 feet, is San Juan Hill, 
on the boundary line between San Bernardino and Orange counties. 
In the eastern half of the hills numerous peaks reach elevations between 
1,200 and 1,400 feet, but in the western half this altitude is excep¬ 
tional. The base of the hills lies about 400 feet above sea level. For 
3 or 4 miles to the south an altitude of 200 or 300 feet is maintained, 
the southern edge of this area being defined by a low ridge that lies 
parallel with the hills from the region of Placentia to a point opposite 
Whittier. South of this the elevation drops to less than 150 feet, 
decreasing gradually to the sea. 


The region of the Puente Hills is dry, all the streams being inter¬ 
mittent. The canyons are deeply cut and in places present consid¬ 
erable ruggedness of aspect. Nearly all are the result of erosion, 
although the loci of some of the erosion valleys were doubtless deter¬ 
mined by the folding to which the strata had been subjected. Nar¬ 
row, perpendicular-sided channels characterize the bottoms of many 
of the canyons, especially those cutting through shale. In many 
places, however, the higher slopes are gentle and the hill summits 
rounded and grassed. 


GEOLOGY. 
FORM ATI ON S.a 


The formations involved in the geology of the Puente Hills include 
the Puente formation, largely sandstone and shale, of Miocene age 
and the equivalent of at least a part of the Modelo formation, and 
possibly including some of the Vaqueros; some diabase post-Puente, 
probably contemporaneous with "similar rocks found throughout the 
Coast Range as far north as San Francisco; clay, sandstone, and 
conglomerate of the Fernando formation, largely Pliocene in age; and 
superficial Pleistocene deposits of sand and gravel. (See PI. X.) 
The Puente formation has been divided on lithologic grounds into 
a lower shale, a sandstone, and an upper shale. 


LOWER PUENTE SHALE .b 

The lowest rocks exposed in the Puente Hills, which will be called 
the lower Puente shale or simply lower shale, embrace at least 2,000 
feet of shale, in the main earthy, but with minor members of a sili- 


a A table giving the formations of the Santa Clara Valley, Los Angeles, and Puente Hills districts ; 
together with their probable correlatives of the standard Tertiary formations of California, is given 
on p. 143. 

b It was not the intention of the authors to apply specific names to the divisions of the Puente, 
but to treat them as unnamed parts of that formation. 





104 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

ceous nature, the whole gray or brown from the presence of iron and 
bitumen. Thin, fine-grained sandstones are interbedded with the 
shale from top to bottom and lenticles of gray limestone weathering 
yellow also occur. All in all, the formation bears close resemblance 
to the Monterey and certain portions of the Modelo. The only evi¬ 
dence of life thus far discovered consists of foraminifera and diatoms, 
so common in the Miocene of the Pacific coast. These occur in both 
shale and limestone. The shale is exposed in the heart of the hills 
with varying prominence; its outcrop is especially strong from Brea 
Canyon westward and in the southeastern portion of the hills. To 
judge by the sequence of beds in other parts of southern California, 
this shale is probably underlain by a mass of coarse sandstone. 

PUENTE SANDSTONE. 

Overlying the shale is a moderately coarse gray to yellow heavv- 
bedded sandstone, separated by minor bands of organic siliceous shale. 
Spherical and lenticular concretions, consisting of the same material 
as the mass of the rock, characterize the sandstone. The lower por¬ 
tion of the sandstone is more thinly bedded than the upper, and the 
intercalated shale is more earthy, suggesting a transition to the under¬ 
lying member. This feature is especially conspicuous along lower 
Soquel Canyon. The thickness of the sandstone varies from perhaps 
less than 300 feet in the western portion of the hills to possibly over 
1,000 feet in the eastern portion, where it lies in a gently undulating 
position, and its areal extent is very great. The sandstone is wanting 
in outcrop along the southern face of the hills opposite the wells of 
the Puente Oil Company. 

UPPER PUENTE SHALE. 

Overlying the Puente sandstone is a variable thickness of earthy, 
siliceous, and chalk-like shale, with a few beds of fine yellow ferrugi¬ 
nous sandstone and minor quartzo-calcareous concretions. This por¬ 
tion of the formation will be called the upper Puente shale, or upper 
shale. The thickness is uncertain, but in the region of the Olinda 
field it appears to be considerably less than it is believed to be in 
the western portion of the hills. Nowhere, perhaps, is it more than 
300 or 400 feet in outcrop. However, the overlying formation rests 
upon it unconformably, and for this reason it is impossible to estimate 
its full original thickness. In doubtful structural positions only has it 
been suspected of having a development of over 100 feet. The most 
important instance of this kind is on the eastern border of the Whittier 
field, where the crest of the hills shows the following section from 


PUENTE HILLS: PUENTE FORMATION. 105 

north to south: In the axis, shale that is believed to be the lower divi¬ 
sion of the Puente; at the southern edge of the crest, sandstone that is 
identified as Puente, 200 or 300 feet in all; and on the southern face of 
the ridge, other shale, also of the Monterey type, bearing the fossil Pec- 
ten pedroanus , and succeeded across a fault plane by the next younger 
(Fernando) formation. The uppermost two beds have a northerly 
dip; the inclination of the Puente sandstone is exceedingly steep, with 
a dip here north and there south, and a consequent uncertainty as to 
which of these directions is the normal. The shale in the heart of the 
hills is crushed and crumpled. Were it not for this extensive crum¬ 
pling and the attendant faulting the sequence given above might be 
regarded as normal; yet an alternative is possible, namely, that the 
suspected uppermost shale, with its northerly dip, occupying the 
southern face of the ridge adjacent to the fault line, may be instead 
the lower member and pass beneath the highly inclined Puente sand¬ 
stone at the crest of the ridge, the two together being faulted down 
against the lower shale farther north, or that it may, by a sharp rever¬ 
sal of its dip, again return to the surface in a compressed and broken 
synclinal fold. 

CORRELATION OF THE PUENTE FORMATION WITH THE 

MONTEREY. 

The resemblance of both lower and upper divisions of shale, if such 
there be, to the Monterey, as it is known in other parts of the 
Coast Range, may warrant their correlation, the Puente sandstone to 
be regarded as an intercalated member. Yet, before finally accepting 
this view, it is well to recall the marked lithologic similarity of portions 
of the lower division of the Puente formation to certain strata in the 
Santa Clara Valley and elsewhere in the Coast Range that have been 
determined by their fossils to be lower Miocene and possibly Oligo- 
cene—lower than the Monterey. From geologic conditions to the 
south of the Puente Hills in the Santa Ana Range, however, the 
writer is inclined to consider the entire succession of beds described 
above as the local equivalent of the Monterey. The only fossil thus 
far obtained from the Puente shales is Pecten pedroanus Trask (see PI. 
XXXVI, figs. 5 and 6), a form which is found both in the Miocene and 
lower Pliocene. A nearly related form, Pecten peck h ami Gabb (PI. 
XXXI, fig. 3), is a characteristic species of the Monterey (middle Mio¬ 
cene). 


106 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


POST-PUENTE DIABASE. 

A dike of diabase nearly a mile long and varying in width up to an 
eighth of a mile breaks through the Puente sandstone and shale along 
the southern slope of the hills north of the mouth of Brea Canyon. 
The exposed portions of the rock are so much weathered that good 
specimens could not be obtained. The altered material is grayish in 
color and shows the light-colored, lath-shaped feldspar crystals very 
distinctly in the specimens examined. The outcrop of this rock in the 
face of the ridge north of the road connecting the Puente and Brea 
Canyon fields has the peculiar irregular contour which enables one to 
distinguish it at a glance from the adjacent sedimentaries. Farther 
east the weathering of the diabase has stained the soil a peculiar red¬ 
dish-brown color characteristic of the diabase areas throughout the 
Coast Range. The age of this diabase is approximately the same as 
that of similar diabase found in the Santa Monica Mountains in a like 
stratigraphic position—that is, it is post-Puente and pre-Fernando 
and belongs in the upper Miocene of the time scale. 

FERNANDO FORMATION. 

The youngest of the Tertiary formations in the Puente Hills is a 
succession of gray to yellow quartzose and granitic conglomerate and 
sandstone, together with interbedded arenaceous shale and clay, in all 
at least 1,500 or 2,000 feet. Occasionally a trace of eruptive debris, 
derived perhaps from the ranges to the north, is found with the other 
constituents, and locally a concretionary tendency may be observed. 
At one or two points, also—notably on the crest of Brea Ridge south 
of the Union Oil Company’s wells and on the main ridge north of the 
wells of this company in La Habra Canyon—the formation appears to 
carry a few inclusions of siliceous shale and calcareous concretions. 
The conglomerate, sandstone, and clay are fossiliferous, the forms indi¬ 
cating an identity of the beds with the Fernando of the Santa Clara 
Valley district. A feature characteristic of this formation is the 
ready disintegration of its sandy shale, which under heavy traffic 
becomes an extremely annoying dust. This formation flanks the 
Puente Hills on the north, south, and west sides. It also covers a 
large area in the Coyote Hills, 3 miles south of La Habra Canyon, and 
here some exposures of its sandstone show a deep rusty or crimson 
color. 

The following fossils, some of which are characteristic of this hori¬ 
zon, have been found in the Fernando beds, mostly in the vicinity of 
Olinda and Brea Canyon (see PI. XXXTY to XLI): 


PUENTE HILLS : FERNANDO FORMATION. 


107 


Fossils from the Fernando beds of the Puente Hills. 

[Species marked with an asterisk (*) are still living; those with a dagger (f) are supposed to be charac¬ 
teristic of this horizon.] 

GASTEROPODA (UNIVALVES). 

* Astyris (of.) gausapata Gould. 

*Bulla (of.) punctulata A. Adams. 

*Calliostoma (of.) costatum Martyn. 
fCancellaria (sp. like San Diego well form). 

*Conus (cf.) californicus Conrad. 

*Crepidula (cf.) rugosa Nuttall. 

*Dentalium neohexagonum Sharp and Pilsbry. 

Dentalium (n. sp. like Miocene form). 

*Fissuridea murina Carpenter (PI. XL, figs. 3, 3a). 

Fusus cf. barbarensis Trask. 

*Nassa fossata Gould. 

*Nassa perpinguis Hinds. 

*Neverita recluziana Petit (PL XXXYIII, fig. 6). 

fPriene oregonensis Redfield, var. angelensis Arnold (PL XL, fig. 11). 

fTrochita costellata Conrad (Pl. XXXII, fig. 3). 

*Trophon multicostatus Carpenter. 

*Turritella cooperi Carpenter (Pl. XLI, fig. 14). 

PELECYPODA (BIVALVES). 

*Arca multicostata Sowerby (?) (Pl. XXXVIII, fig. 1). 

Area trilineata Conrad (Pl. XXXVIII, figs. 3, 3a, 4). 

*Cardium (cf.) corbis Conrad. 

*Cardium quadrigenarium Conrad, var. fernandoensis Arnold (Pl. XXXVIII, 
fig. 2). 

*Chione (cf.) fluctifraga Sowerby. 

*Leda taphria Dali (Pl. XXXVIII, fig. 5). 

*Metis (cf.) alta Conrad. 

*Modiolus (cf.) rectus Conrad. 
jOstrea veatchii Gabb (Pl. XXXIX, fig. 1). 
fPecten ashleyi Arnold (Pl. XXXIV, fig. 2). 
fPecten auburyi Arnold (Pl. XXXV, fig. 7). 

*Pecten hastatus Sowerby. 

fPecten nutteri Arnold. 

fPecten oweni Arnold. 

fPecten wattsi Arnold (Pl. XXXV, fig. 1). 

„*Phacoides acutilineatus Conrad. 

*Phacoides californicus Conrad. 

*Phacoides nuttallii Conrad. 

*Phacoides richthofeni Gabb. 

Siliqua edentula Gabb. 

*Solen sicarius Gould. 


PLEISTOCENE. 

Alluvial gravel, sand, and clay of one or more periods of deposition 
underlie the valleys adjacent to the Puente Hills. 


108 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA- 


STRUCTURE. 

GENERAL STRUCTURAL RELATIONS OF THE FIELDS. 

The structure of the Puente Hills is that of an anticline, contracted 
in the western part, expanded in the eastern. The main axis of the 
flexure is not everywhere easy of recognition, owing to the prominence 
of some of the nearly parallel secondary folds that exist throughout 
the length and breadth of the hills, but the line laid down on the map 
(in the eastern half of the hills—the northern branch) approximately 
indicates the axis of the anticline. The general trend of the Puente 
fold is N. 65° W., varying but a few degrees in either direction. 
Besides the main and parallel or slightly divergent secondary folds, 
there are several flexures, with a trend approximately northeast and 
southwest. These are particularly developed on the northern slope 
of the main anticline in the eastern half of the hills. The most impor¬ 
tant is the broad, gentle arch occupying the region of the forks of Brea 
Canyon, and to this is due, in considerable degree, the areal expansion 
of the Puente Hills in their eastern part. The eastern rim of the hills 
presents several complications of strike and dip, doubtless more or 
less connected in structure with the Santa Ana Range to the south. 
(See PI. XI.). 

The south side of the Puente Hills is devoid of folds other than those 
secondary to and parallel with the main anticline. On this side of 
the hills, however, the force which produced the anticline has most 
severely manifested itself, the folds being sharp and numerous and 
the strata badly crushed. Indeed, the data at hand suggest the pos¬ 
sibility of a fault of considerable magnitude, extending from the 
extreme west end of the hills nearly or quite to Santa Ana River. The 
amount of throw is indeterminable, but local displacements of several 
hundred feet are indicated by the relation of the beds. The con¬ 
tinuity of the fault, considered as a single fracture, is not established. 
On the contrary, it is probable that within the zone of maximum dis¬ 
turbance there are a number of fractures, more or less connected, it 
may be, yet throughout a part of their course apparently distinct—in 
fact, a zone of faults instead of a single uninterrupted break. The 
chief evidences of faulting are the continuity of a zone of marked 
crumpling, the overturned and crushed condition of the beds at many 
points, variation in the succession of beds adjacent to the line of sus¬ 
pected fracture, and a divergence between trend of break and strike 
of strata, particularly well defined in the Whittier field. On the other 
hand, the line of possible fractures is at no point far distant from the 
contact between the Fernando and the Puente formations, and it is 
well known that throughout the Coast Range there is a conspicuous 
unconformity at this horizon. Without doubt the unconformity is 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XI 


CO 

D 



GEOLOGIC SECTIONS ACROSS THE OIL FIELDS OF PUENTE HILLS DISTRICT. 




































































109 


PUENTE HILLS: STRUCTURE. 

present in this field, and it is probable, too, that the younger sedi¬ 
ments, as has been found the case with their equivalents elsewhere, 
were laid down upon the already upturned and partially eroded beds 
of the older formation. This would account for many of the irreyulari- 
ties noted along the length of the disturbed belt, but the broken con¬ 
dition of the beds on either side of the line of suspected fracture and 
the steeply inclined, in many places overturned, dip of the Fernando 
sediments in proximity thereto indicate a combined effect of faulting 
and unconformity for the zone in question. The conditions are almost 
a repetition of those in the McKittrick district, in the San Joaquin Val¬ 
ley, along the eastern base of the Coast Range. The oil fields of the 
Puente Hills have been developed in the zone of sharp crumpling and 
in proximity both to the trace of the possible fault and to the line of 
unconformity; the important wells of the McKittrick district have 
been drilled along the fracture and adjacent to the unconformity there 
existing. A guide to development lias been the numerous seepages 
that occur along the belt of severely disturbed strata; but these have 
not always proved reliable indications of a large accumulation of oil. 

COYOTE HILLS ANTICLINE. 

The low east-west ridge known as the Coyote Hills, 3 or 4 miles 
south of the Puente Hills, is an anticline which flanks and is in a 
general way parallel with the Puente fold and was probably devel¬ 
oped synchronously with it. The exposed strata in the west end of 
the Coyote Hills are the Fernando conglomerate and sandstone, but 
no data were obtained indicating how thick they are at this locality 
or at what depth the underlying Puente shale and sandstone lie. 
No seepages have been found in these hills, but toward their west 
end, 3 or 4 miles south of Whittier, is a large gas well. It is proba¬ 
ble that oil also exists in the crest of this anticline, but at what 
depth and in what quantities only future development will show. 
Some of the most productive wells, however, are located in regions 
where the structure is similar to that of this ridge. 


GKO LOGIC RELATIONS OK OIL-REAliING STRATA. 


The distribution of the surrounding mountain masses and the posi¬ 
tion of the Puente Hills in relation thereto do not appear to have 
influenced the accumulation of oil. On the contrary, the significant 
factors appear to be the anticline, the sharply disturbed zone along 
its southern side, the fault that seems to be located within this zone, 
and the unconformity between the Fernando and the Puente forma¬ 
tions. Finally, all the foregoing conditions would be unavailing had 
not the formation of petroleum taken place somewhere within the 
succession of beds in the close vicinity of the hills. 


110 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

All the sedimentary formations in the Puente Hills, at one horizon 
or another, carry petroleum or its asphaltic residue. In the region 
developed by the Puente Oil Company, near the center of the pro¬ 
ductive belt, oil is derived from sandy strata low down in the lower 
division of the Puente shale. The Puente sandstone is bituminous at 
several points, particularly along the eastern crest of the hills, 
although as yet it affords no oil. The upper shale, also unproductive, 
nevertheless carries a small content of disseminated oil. The Fer¬ 
nando formation has proved extremely rich in several localities. 
The presence of oil at the horizons mentioned is not, however, an 
argument for their productiveness at all points. The factors of 
structure and of the original occurrence or formation of petroleum 
are always to be considered. 

While it is evident that severe disturbance of the strata has been 
the chief determinant of the presence and development of the suc¬ 
cession of oil fields along the southern face of the Puente Hills, such 
occurrences as that of the Chino field, on the eastern crest of the 
hills, 5 miles southwest of the town of Chino, are evidences of the 
possibilities, under right conditions, in the regions of subordinate 
folds. As yet, however, prospecting of the secondary and lateral 
anticlines has been but slight. 

OIL FIELDS. 

The developed oil fields of the Puente Hills include the Whittier, 
immediately east of Whittier; the La Habra, on La Habra ranch, 
3 miles southeast of the Whittier field; the Puente, on the summit 
of the ridge in its most contracted portion; the Brea Canyon, 
miles southeast of the Puente field; the Olinda, on Olinda ranch, 
7 miles northeast of Fullerton, and the Chino, about 5 miles south¬ 
west of Chino. The last-mentioned field, although within the gen¬ 
eral anticline of the Puente Hills, is independent of the other 
petroleum-producing areas, which lie at intervals along the belt of 
highly disturbed strata on the south side of the hills. (PI. XII.) 

WHITTIER FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The producing territory of the Whittier oil field lies on the south¬ 
ern slope of the Puente Hills, beginning within a mile of the town 
of Whittier and extending in a S. 65° E. direction about 2 \ miles. 

GEOLOGY. 

The field is developed along the south side of the well-defined 
Puente fault zone, in southward-dipping conglomerate, sandstone, 
and argillaceous beds of the Fernando formation, which successively 
abut against different members in the siliceous and other shales of 


U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



ri 

D 

05 


T. 2 S. 














































































































































































































































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* 




































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PUENTE HILLS: WHITTIER FIELD. 


Ill 


the Puente that lie with varied dip on the north of the fault. The 
line of producing wells trends N. 65° W., in marked divergence with 
the strike of the formations, which varies but little on either side of 
an east-west line. The wells, in other words, follow the trend of the 
fault rather than the strike of the beds, and in the Fernando forma¬ 
tion the oil horizons vary with the strata that are brought into con¬ 
tact with the shale across the fracture plane. In the eastern portion 
of the field, for example, the petroleum is in beds considerably higher 
than in the western portion. An apparent exception to this ten¬ 
dency of well development to follow the fault plane exists in the 
long parallel strings of Murphy and Central wells that lie on either 
side of an east-west property line, a little north of the south line of 
sec. 23, T. 2 S., R. 11 W. (See PI. XIII, A.) These wells closely 
follow the strike of the formation, with which, however, the prop¬ 
erty line,, the determining factor in their location, happens to be 
nearly coincident. 

%j 

North of the plane of separation of the Fernando and Puente for¬ 
mations the wells drilled in the Puente beds have been, with a few 
unimportant and slight exceptions, total failures. It would seem, 
therefore, that for this field the productive belt is in the Fernando 
formation adjacent to the plane of fracture or of unconformity. The 
width of this belt is uncertain, but is at least between a quarter and 
half a mile, and the oil is found at greater depths in proportion as it 
is distant from the line of fracture. The strata affording oil in the 
Whittier field are members of the Fernando formation and consist 
•of coarse gray to yellow-brown conglomerate, heavy-bedded sand¬ 
stone, and pulverulent argillaceous sand that shades locally into dis¬ 
tinct! v arenaceous clav. Here and there the clay has been hard- 
ened by the presence of lime, and in some of the sandstone also there 
are hard quartzo-calcareous concretions, such as have been ob¬ 
served in this formation at other points in the hills. Locally, also, 
the sandstone shows the presence of more or less dry bitumen, which 
imparts to the rock a brown color. The exact position of these beds 
in the formation as a whole is unknown, by reason of faulting, because 
of the unconformity which exists between the Fernando and the 
underlying formations, and from the fact that as yet the various 
divisions have not been identified and correlated by their fossil con¬ 
tents. Furthermore, there is an apparent variation in composition 
along the strike of the formation. The relative position of the beds in 
the eastern and western portions of the productive tract may, how¬ 
ever, be traced with comparative precision by reference to strike lines 
which vary but little from east and west; a heavy conglomerate, for 
instance, which lies a quarter of a mile south of the Murphy and Cen¬ 
tral wells in the eastern part of the field is found fully half or three- 
fourths of a mile south of the Home wells in the western part. Other 


112 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


conglomerates that in the vicinity of the Home wells outcrop in close 
proximity to the fault line may be those cut at considerable depth in 
the Murphy and Central group. 

The Puente shale north of the fault line is in part siliceous, in part 
earthy, and in places it is brown from the presence of bitumen as well 
as of iron. In many of the layers may be found traces of the low 
organisms, foraminifera, etc., which are usually present in the Miocene 
formations, especially the Monterey. Limestone concretions also 
occur. Whether the shale outcropping adjacent to the fault belongs 
above the Puente sandstone or below was not positively determined. 
All three divisions of the formation perhaps occur at one point or 
another in the field, but the contorted and faulted condition of the 
beds requires the utmost detail of study for their successful correla¬ 
tion, and this the present reconnaissance did not permit. It is suffi¬ 
cient for the immediate purposes of this report that the Miocene shale 
(Puente) has been identified in faulted or unconformable contact 
with the oil-bearing members of the Fernando. 

The number of oil-bearing horizons in the Fernando formation 
adjacent to the fault line and the fact that they are in contact with 
the bituminous shale of the Puente suggest a passage of the oil from 
the older formation into the various members of the younger, the 
fault having been not only a disturbing element affecting the positions 
of the strata, but also, perhaps, the means of affording a channel for 
the transfer of the fluid from the entire thickness of Puente shale to 
the several horizons of the Fernando. The fault plane, in fact, here 
seems to have performed in an enhanced degree the same function as 
the plane, of unconformity between the two formations, so conspicuous 
an element in many of the oil fields of California. The }T)unger for¬ 
mation of open, porous sandstone and conglomerate lies in contact 
with the bitumen-bearing shales of the Puente; in the one instance by 
faulting, in the other by deposition. In both instances the receptive 
strata of the younger formation, which happen to lie against or upon 
the older beds, have become impregnated with the bitumen capable of 
removal through wells. 

That the surficial relation between the Fernando and the Puente 
beds is one of faulting rather than simple unconformity is argued from 
the irregularities of strike and dip of the various strata, but beneath 
the surface the unconformity which exists at the base of the upper 
Miocene at almost every point in the Coast Range is undoubtedly also 
present. 

STRUCTURE. 

The nature of the Puente fault zone is exhibited in a complex of 
fractures observable a few hundred feet north and northwest of the 
principal group of Central wells. It consists of two principal breaks. 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XIII 




WHITTIER OIL FIELD, LOS ANGELES COUNTY. 

Wells along property line of Central Oil Company and Murphy Oil Company, looking east; B, Productive well in vertical strata. 
















PUENTE HILLS: WHITTIER FIELD. 


113 


The southern, in the eastern half of the field, receives at an acute 
angle the axis of an anticlinal fold, which in the region of the Chandler 
wells is conspicuously developed in the Fernando formation to the 
south of all recognized fault planes. The northern break is traceable 
but a short distance to the east; but in alignment with it, a mile dis¬ 
tant, is a sharp crumple in Puente strata. West of the Murphy-Cen¬ 
tral region the fault zone resulting from the union of the fractures thus 
described passes immediately north of the productive wells of the 
Fidelity, Turner, and Home companies and thence toward the west 
end of the hills. The block between the two faults just mentioned 
involves both the Fernando and Puente formations. The foregoing 
details derive their chief interest from their possible bearing on the 
occurrence and yield of petroleum in the region discussed. 

Toward the west end of the Whittier field, especially in the vicinity 
of the Home Oil Company’s wells, the Fernando beds appear to be 
slightly overturned. (See PI. XI, sec. A-B.) North of the fault 
line, in a little ravine north of Home well No. 11, the Puente shale 
inclines to the north at an angle of about 25°, while immediately adja¬ 
cent to the fracture it dips southward at a steep angle. The Fernando 
beds next to the fault are approximately perpendicular, but a little 
farther south, in fact as far as Home well No. 7, they dip to the north 
at angles varying from 75° to 90°. (See PI. XIII, B.) A short dis¬ 
tance south of well No. 7, however, the dip changes to 75° or 80° S. in 
rather coarse conglomerates, while the inclination of the alternating 
bands of sandstone and conglomerate from this latter point south¬ 
ward to the edge of the hills gradually becomes less. 

The conditions in the vicinity of the East Whittier and Bulla wells, 
near the west edge of sec. 24, T. 2 S., R. 11 W., have already been 
referred to on page 111, under the heading “Geology." (See PI. XI, 
sec. C-D.) A short distance south of the crest of the hills, in the 
region of the Bulla wells, the strata show sharp compression, together 
with a distinct break in stratigraphic continuity, Fernando con¬ 
glomerate abutting against Puente shale, both dipping north. The 
relationship between the formations appears to mark the locus of a 
fault in this region. The line of division is, moreover, in the direct 
trend of the suspected fracture as recognized farther west. North 
of the fracture the Puente shale and sandstone lie in somewhat con¬ 
fused relationship; it is possible that a second fault parallels the 
main fracture, or it may be that the strata are folded into a sharply 
compressed syncline. 

OIL WELLS. 

The wells of the Whittier field draw their supply wholly from the 
members of the Fernando formation. They range in depth from 
about 800 feet close to the fault line to nearly 2,500 feet at a distance 


114 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


from the break, the width of the productive zone as at present devel¬ 
oped varying from an eighth to a quarter of a mile. The sandy 
members of the formation, rather than those of clayey consistency, 
yield the petroleum, although in some instances the material is com¬ 
paratively fine, while in others it is coarse and even conglomeratic. 
The gravity of the oil varies from 16° to 23° B., the higher grade 
being reported from greater depths, although, perhaps, from younger 
beds. It is to be remarked also that some of the shallow wells are 
the older and that their condition is now far from satisfactory, water 
having in many instances found its way into oil-bearing strata, with 
the consequent effects of oxygenation and the transmission of more 
or less impurities. The daily production of the wells is said to vary 
from 2 barrels in the oldest to 300 in the newest and deepest. 

Among other groups of wells within what may be regarded as the 
confines of the Whittier field are the Chandler, a group of four wells 
1 mile southeast of the Murphy and Central wells. These were about 
the first drilled in the Whittier field, but are now abandoned. Their 
location was probably determined by an oil seepage from the sand¬ 
stone and conglomerate. They were, however, primitive in equip¬ 
ment and shallow and afforded but a light yield of heav}^ oil. At 
this point the Fernando formation lies in an anticline secondary and 
parallel to the main fold in the hills. The beds south of the axis 
dip from 45° to 70°, and those north of the axis, with steeper dip, 
apparently abut against the Puente fault, being in contact with the 
Puente shale forming the central and higher portion of the hills. 
This shale also pitches to the north immediately adjacent to the 
fracture, a position that may be either normal or overturned, the 
latter occurring at many places within the zone of severe crumpling 
along the southern face of the Puente Hills. The Chandler wells are 
located a little south of the axis of the secondarv anticline referred 

c/ 

to above. 

One or two wells have also been drilled in the same s;eneral region 
as the Chandler group, but in the Puente shale north of the fracture. 
As in the case of other wells in this formation in the territory adja¬ 
cent to the Whittier field, the results were negative. The fact, how¬ 
ever, that the Puente shales or their included sandstone locally carry 
oil is evident from the field developed by the Puente Oil Company, 
but no law governing this relationship has been discovered. In case 
the oil is not originally contained in the formation, its presence is 
probably due to the porportion of sandy members—a factor widely 
variable from point to point. 

At the summit of the Puente Hills, about 1^ miles north of Whittier, 
near the east edge of sec. 16, T. 2 S., P. 11 W., the North Whittier 
Oil Company has drilled two wells on the north limb of the main 


PUENTE HILLS: LA HABRA CANYON FIELD. 115 

Puente anticline, within a mile or two of the west end of the fold. 
The wells are sunk in Fernando conglomerate and sandstone, which 
have a regular dip. They were not a marked success and no more 
have been drilled in the immediate vicinity, although at depths be¬ 
tween 900 and 1,500 feet oil-bearing strata affording a small yield 
were encountered. These wells are of especial interest, since they 
are among the first to be exploited in the younger formation on the 
north limb of the anticline. Faults of importance have not been 
observed in this locality. From surface indications the position 
of the North Whittier wells seems to be somewhat analogous to that 
of other wells in such productive fields as Coalinga, Midway, and 
Sunset, where petroleum occurs in formations having remarkable 
evenness of dip, strike, and succession. 

The productive wells of the Whittier field embrace those of the 
Home, Turnbull Canyon, Turner, Fidelity, Strong, Central, Warner, 
and Murphy oil companies. Other companies have drilled at various 
points in the field, but thus far without success. In general, the 
wells immediately south of the fracture have been found productive; 
those to the north unproductive. (PI. XIV, B.) 

LA HABRA CANYON FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The region of La Habra Canyon occupies the heart of the Puente 
Hills, midway between the Whittier and Puente fields. It has an 
east-west length of about 3 miles, the productive territory being near 
the west end. 

GEOLOGY. 

The geologic relations between this and the fields on either side 
have not been fully established, but in a broad sense the three are 
similar, the principal differences consisting in the details of folding, 
their position within the general anticline, and the strata pierced. 
The formations of the region include the upper and lower members of 
the Puente formation, together with the intervening sandstone, and 
the Fernando conglomerate, sandstone, and clay. Exposures of the 
lower shale are limited to the center of the general anticline in the 
eastern part of the area; the Puente sandstone outcrops in the middle, 
a trace of the upper shale overlying, while the Fernando formation 
almost closes over and around the older beds at the west end. West 
of this the conglomerate again gives way to outcrops of the Puente, 
which in the Whittier field occupies a large proportion of the ridge 
crest. 


11G OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

STRUCTURE. 

The older formations in the heart of the area lie in anticlinal posi¬ 
tion, the flanks of the fold showing sharp local crumplings, with pos¬ 
sibly a continuation of the faults that occur in the fields to the east 
and west. The prevailing strike is N. 70°-80° W. The position of 
the Puente fracture, if it be present (or of its alternative, the line of 
unconformity) is considerably nearer the axis of the general anticline 
than at points to the east, a few hundred feet only separating the two 
if, indeed, they are not locally coincident. As in other fields, there 
is here also a marked divergence between the trend of folds and the 
course assumed by the line of maximum disturbance. Along this line 
the development of oil territory has taken place. In the vicinity of 
the Union and New England wells, at the west end of the district, 
the strata show marked crumpling, with some evidence of faulting, 
although this is north of what appears to be the main anticline as 
traced from the east. The locality is one of especial confusion, owing 
to the compressed condition of the folds, to the proximity of the hori¬ 
zon of unconformity between the Fernando and older beds, and to the 
crushing that the rocks have undergone. 

Of the several flexures present the most important appears to be 
that which passes directly north of the Union wells, in apparent con¬ 
tinuation of the princpal anticline of the hills to the east. It lies con¬ 
siderably south of the point of greatest disturbance in the field,which 
is apparently in the immediate region of the New England wells. 
Farther west it possibly merges with the fold which appears south of 
the fault zone at the east end of the Whittier district. North of this 
fold are others, both anticlines and synclines, in one of which are the 
New England wells and an isolated well of the Union Oil Company. 
The rocks along the axis of this fold show severe crushing, with indi¬ 
cations of considerable displacement. 

At the head of the east fork of La Habra Canyon the structure again 
shows marked complexity. Sharp crumples, even faults, exist. 
The most conspicuous displacement is between the hills oneitherside 
of the road over the divide. The unconformity also is very marked, 
the line between the Fernando conglomerate and the siliceous shale 
of the Puente sweeping in a broad curve to the southern base of the 
hills and passing thence to the entrance to Walnut Canyon and the 
hills separating this from the entrance to Brea Canyon. Whether 
faults exist along this line is uncertain. North of the more conspicu¬ 
ous fracture the lower body of shale, beyond an interval of sharp 
minor folds, assumes a northerly dip, which is maintained by the 
succeeding formations to the northern limit of the hills. South of 
the fracture the shale, together with a small fragment of Puente sand¬ 
stone, appears to lie in a sharp syncline, which is succeeded by an anti- 


PUENTE HILLS: PUENTE FIELD. 


117 


cline, but there is much confusion in the details of structure, and 
these have not been determined. The changes in structure so fre¬ 
quently encountered in the Puente Hills are well exemplified in the 
present locality. Within a quarter to half a mile to the east the folds 
are less complicated, but the flexures continue to the Puente oil field, 
with faults, doubtless, in considerable number, but difficult of detec¬ 
tion in the homogeneous shale. 

The La Habra locality is noteworthy also in that the line of faulting 
and unconformity traceable westward from the Olinda and Brea 
Canyon fields here approaches the system of successive folds that 
characterizes the region of the Puente Oil Company’s wells. Farther 
west the relations of these folds are even more intimate, and the zone 
of disturbance carrying them is greatly contracted. 


OIL WELLS. 

The only wells of the La Habra district are those of the Union and 
New England oil companies. They lie in two groups; the Sansinena 
wells, belonging to the Union Company, are situated in the gulch 
bottom a little south of the axis of what to the east is probably the 
main anticline; the other group is on the crest of the ridge, half a mile 
to the northwest, in highly disturbed strata close to the axis of one of 
the subordinate folds. The production of these wells is not large and 
the oil is comparatively heavy. A maximum depth of nearly 2,000 
feet has been attained, although most of the wells are said to be much 
shallower. Oil is reported to the depth of 1,850 feet. The forma¬ 
tions in the deeper wells embrace 300 or 400 feet of Fernando con¬ 
glomerate at the top, followed by shale and sandstone below, in part, 
perhaps, of the Fernando, in part older. 

PUENTE FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The Puente oil field lies along the crest of the Puente Hills and of 
the general anticline forming them. It is about 1§ miles northwest of 
the mouth of Brea Canyon and 3 miles east-southeast of the developed 
territory of La Habra Canyon. The productive area is approxi¬ 
mately 1} miles long by one-eighth mile wide, the length correspond¬ 
ing with the general strike of the beds (N. 70° W.). 


GEOLOGY 


The formation underlying the region of the Puente field is the 
lower Puente shale, which, as shown by the well logs, is here largely 
interstratified with beds of fine sand varying in thickness from a few 
inches up to 100 feet or more; an unbroken thickness of 100 feet is, 


Bull. 309—07-9 



118 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


however, exceptional. Oil occurs at intervals from a depth of less 
than 300 feet to nearly 2,000 feet. The shale lies at the very heart of 
the Puente anticline and is, therefore, except in one or two places, 
not only the oldest body of rock exposed northwest of Santa Ana 
River, but the lowest formation in which oil has been found in the 
general region of the Puente Hills. 

Flanking the shale on the north is the Puente sandstone, which is 
overlain by a thin body of the upper shale, and this in turn at the 
periphery of the hills by the Fernando conglomerate and associated 
beds. The dip from the crest of the ridge northward is to the north 
with marked regularity. South of the crest, opposite the developed 
territory, the shale extends to the valley level, the younger formations 
lying buried beneath the more recent wash. The dip on the south 
side of the ridge, especially in the eastern half of the held, is variable, 
indicating a rapid succession of synclines and anticlines, each lower 
as the edge of the prairie is approached. Opposite the western half 
of the held the folds are less pronounced and the prevailing dip on 
the lower slope of the hills is northward, changing to southward 
higher up. 

Opposite the Puente oil held, for a distance of 2 or 3 miles along 
the southern base of the hills, the Fernando formation is wanting in 
outcrop, this being the only break in its continuity from a point near 
the Santa Ana to San Gabriel River. The ridges which usually mark 
the outcrop of the Fernando are also wanting, having been carried 
away, doubtless, by erosion at the time when the Pacific washed the 
base of the hills. It may be due to this that the Puente sandstone 
lying buried with the younger formation beneath the terrace gravels 
of the valley is also lacking along this same stretch of country. On 
the other hand, the disappearance of the Fernando and Puente sand¬ 
stone may be by faulting, which is known to have disturbed the 
structural relations both to the east and to the west. North of the 
hills the strike of the Fernando and underlying formations changes 
from its normal direction of N. 65°-70° W. to nearly northeast. The 
Fernando passes from the flanks of the hills to the valley of San Jose 
Creek, while the Puente sandstone and the underlying shale enter into 
those subordinate folds of northeasterly trend which characterize the 
northern side of the hills from this point eastward. 

STRUCTURE. 

Without a detailed survey it is impossible to delineate the individual 
flexures of the Puente field. They are many in number, parallel with 
one another, of varying length and amplitude, and some are but 
slightly less important than the main anticline itself. There is no 
doubt, however, that the axis of the principal fold is here nearly coin- 


PUENTE HILLS: PUENTE FIELD. 


119 


cident with the crest of the ridge, and the oil territory has been devel¬ 
oped chiefly in proximity to this axis on either side. (See PL XI, 
sec. E-F.) From the Puente field eastward oil development has fol¬ 
lowed the line of the suspected fault and unconformity, although the 
main anticline has been but slightly prospected. Wells north of the 
line referred to, however, have been generally unsuccessful. The 
axis of the anticline has a gentle westerly pitch, which is maintained, 
except for modification by faulting, to a point beyond the New Eng¬ 
land Oil Company’s wells. 

Whether faulting has taken place in the immediate region of the 
wells is undetermined. It is suggested, however, both by the sharp 
crumpling which the beds have undergone and by the fact that the 
line of development is directly in the trend of the fault which has 
been recognized at the head of the east fork of La Habra Canyon. 
The locus of the main Puente fracture (or of its alternative, the uncon¬ 
formity) lies at the southern base of the hills and is traceable eastward 
to the Brea Canyon district and westward to the head of La Habra 
Canyon. The lack of confirmatory evidence to the contrary and the 
irregularity in the trend of the interformational line argue rather for 
unconformity than for faulting, although the possibility of the latter 
must be admitted. A feature of the field is the convergence of the 
axes of several folds that farther east are of considerable prominence. 

OIL AVELLS. 

The wells of the Puente oil field are those of the Puente Oil Com¬ 
pany, which now penetrate the lower shale of the Puente formation 
to a depth of nearly 2,000 feet, although for years 800 or 900 feet was 
the maximum. Oil is drawn from many layers of sand of varying 
thickness, some of the lower being especially productive and others 
affording but a minimum yield. The depth of 2,000 feet attained by 
the drill, together Avith the amount of erosion that must have taken 
place from the arch of the fold, indicates that this division of the 
Puente is at least 2,500 feet thick, the thickness of the entire formation 
being still undetermined. 

The wells of the Puente Oil Company are among the oldest in Cali¬ 
fornia, dating back to the year 1885. Their production until recently 
has never been large, but has been maintained with marked con¬ 
stancy. Some of the newer wells have yielded 100 to 200 barrels of 
oil a day; but, as in the case of all other fields, this amount has 
decreased as the pressure has diminished and the territory has become 
drained. During 1905 but a few of the Avells in this field Avere being 
pumped, and these only to avoid flooding. The oil is of an olive-green 
to black color by reflected light and varies in gravity from 22° to 35° B. 


120 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


BREA CANYON FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

Brea Canyon finds exit from the Puente hills 5 miles north-northeast 
of Fullerton in the vicinity of one of the most important oil districts 
in the territory. Below the forks the canyon assumes the trend of 
the main Puente anticline and lies close to the zone of maximum dis¬ 
turbance. At a point where the beds have been locally crushed it 
cuts directly through the outer terrane of the hills and passes into the 
valley. (See PI. XIV, A.) 

GEOLOGY. 

The Brea Canyon oil field is developed in the zone of highly dis¬ 
turbed strata along the lower canyon in a general N. 65°-70° W. direc¬ 
tion. The formations include the Fernando conglomerate, sandstone, 
and arenaceous clay, the upper shale of the Puente, the Puente sand¬ 
stone, here limited in area, and the lower division of the Puente, with 
its shale, interbedded sandstone, and lenticular masses of limestone. 

The Fernando formation is well exposed along the lower portion 
of Brea Canyon. The higher and outer members consist of bright 
gray and yellow conglomerate, sandstone, and arenaceous clay. 
Within and lower in the series conglomerate becomes somewhat 
less conspicuous and traces of bitumen begin to appear. This fea¬ 
ture is especially noticeable at the entrance to the canyon proper. 
Here also the sandstone, with a few pebbles, shows the concretion¬ 
ary structure observable elsewhere in the hills, but the formation is 
not on this account to be confounded with the Puente sandstone, 
for otherwise there are marked lithologic differences, and in addition 
to these the fossils of the younger beds are especially abundant and 
characteristic. The conglomerate of the Fernando formation enters 
largely into the composition of Brea Bidge, extending eastward far 
beyond the region of the Santa Fe wells. Westward it may be 
traced to its disappearance beneath the valley opposite the Puente 
oil field. Still lower in the series and occupying the inner or north¬ 
ern slope of Brea Bidge are several bands of petroliferous sand¬ 
stone that display a few concretions and here and there a pebble 
mass and are interbedded with arenaceous clay. Two of the sand¬ 
stone bands are particularly conspicuous, one well down on the 
north face of the ridge, the other north of the ridge near the creek 
channel. It is possible that these may lie at the same horizon, but 
that they are duplicated by faulting, the valley of the creek being 
coincident with a line of marked local disturbance. These beds 
carry fossils of lower Pliocene age. (See list, p. 107.) In the hill 
north of Brea Canyon there is a further succession of beds of clay, 
sandstone, and conglomerate, one or two of the conglomerate beds 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XIV 



A. LA BREA CANYON FIELD, ORANGE COUNTY. 

Looking southeast. 



B. CHARACTERISTIC PUMPING PLANT, WHITTIER FIELD, LOS ANGELES COUNTY. 


































































' . 


















PUENTE HILLS : BREA CANYON FIELD. 


121 


being particularly persistent. Midway between the base and sum¬ 
mit of the hill there is a calcareous pebbly layer, which is also fossil- 
iferous, yielding a lower Pliocene fauna. The beds forming the 
lower slope north of the stream, although perhaps not a repetition 
of the beds south of the canyon, are unquestionably of the same 
formation. 

A small body of limestone a few feet across, together with a little 
shale similar to the Puente material, was observed in the Fernando 
of Brea Ridge. A similar occurrence was noted near the Union 
wells in the La Habra district. Both are unusual and inexplicable. 

Opposite the entrance to Brea Canyon the Fernando formation is 
succeeded on the north by shale, thin-bedded sandstone, and cal¬ 
careous concretions characteristic of the lower divison of the Puente 
in this region. A narrow dike of diabase extending in an east-west 
direction for nearly a mile intrudes these Puente beds a short dis¬ 
tance north of Brea Canyon. The shale and sandstone are directly 
traceable into those which occupy the heart of the general anticline 
2 miles to the west, in the region of the Puente Oil Company’s wells. 
They are overlain by the Puente sandstone in the eastern half of 
this field, and at the divide between Brea Canyon and the drain¬ 
age of the Olinda field the upper shale in turn appears, in contact 
with the Fernando. In the western half of the field the sandstone 
and the overlying shale are wanting, having been carried beneath 
the surface, possibly by the Puente fault, which may here pass along 
the northern slope of the canyon. Notwithstanding, however, the 
evidences of faulting in the severe crushing which the strata have 
undergone, it is also possible that the unconformity admittedly 
existing between the Fernando and the older formations may prove 
to be accountable for the variation in the succession of strata, the 
younger members of the earlier formation having been uplifted and 
removed prior to the deposition of the later conglomerate and asso¬ 
ciated sediments. East of the east fork of Brea Canyon the Puente 
sandstone regains its prominence, and from this locality almost to 
the valley of the Santa Ana and the lowlands about Chino it is the 
most conspicuous formation of the hills. 

STRUCTURE. 

The structure about lower Brea Canyon is difficult to read, but 
from what has already been said the inference may be drawn that 
it is probably in direct general continuation with that both to the 
east and west; that is, the sharp folds, faults, and unconformity 
existing in the hills of the Santa Fe region extend along the north¬ 
ern slopes of the canyon, passing thence across the spur immediately 
west of its mouth to the edge of the prairie opposite the Puente oil 


122 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


field. The formations north of the fault line, or of the line of 
unconformity, show the usual variety of flexures, the shale being 
especially crumpled, the Puente sandstone less so. Syncline and 
anticline appear with a few secondary faults, parallel to the main 
fracture. An instance of the minor faults is to be found in the 
face of the ridge between the east and west forks of Brea Canyon, 
where Puente sandstone lies vertically against slightly undulating 
beds of the lower division of the Puente shale, indicating the drag¬ 
ging down of the younger horizon in connection with the sharp fold 
from which the chief displacement has been developed. Toward the 
crest of the hills is the main axis of the general anticline, the fold 
being here somewhat modified by the radiate flexure passing to the 
northeast between the forks of Brea Canyon. 

The position assumed by the Fernando beds south of the Puente 
fault is of the greatest interest from a structural standpoint. The dip 
of the conglomerate and sandstone north of the canyon, opposite the 
wells of the Brea Canyon and Menges oil companies, is 50°-90° N. 
(See PI. XI, sec. G-H.) There appears to be a considerable differ¬ 
ence in the succession as well as in the composition of the beds on the 
two sides of the gorge, yet in the uncertainties of lithology their corre¬ 
lation can not be denied as possible. A doubt exists as to whether 
the strata immediately south of the supposed fault lie in an anticline, 
as in similar positions at several points along the hills, or whether the 
conglomerate, sandstone, and arenaceous clay have been overturned 
by dragging against the fracture plane in their downward displace¬ 
ment. At one or two points there is some evidence of the latter con¬ 
dition ; at others there is equal evidence of an anticline; elsewhere all 
is confused. If the anticline exists, its axis lies near the stream chan¬ 
nel in the lower portion of the canyon, gradually passing into the 
slopes of Brea Ridge toward the east, to become continuous or but 
slightly en echelon with that of the anticline south of the faidt in the 
Olinda field. The line of seepages in the bottom of Brea Canyon may 
mark such an axis and may possibly indicate a fracture developed 
along the crest of the fold. The most satisfactory evidence of an 
anticline aside from the unconnected northerly and southerly dips 
along the canyon exists about the head of the small lateral gulch in 
which the Menges wells are situated, the Fernando formation here 
showing the arch of a gentle fold, which, though lying close to the 
Puente fault, may prove continuous with the anticline suspected as 
coincident with the lower portion of Brea Canyon—its westernmost 
extension in fact. Moreover, it may be due to the near approach of 
anticlinal axis and fault—perhaps to the merging of one into the 
other—that the exterior ridges of the hills disappear to the west, the 
fracture alone passing thence along the base of the ridge opposite the 
wells of the Puente Oil Company. On the other hand, near the sug- 


PUENTE HILLS : BREA CANYON FIELD. 


123 


gested fault line north of the Menges and Brea Canyon oil territory 
there is marked confusion of the strata, and the region is not without 
evidence of a simple overturn adjacent to the line of displacement. 
If this be the case, the line of seepages along the bottom of Brea 
Canyon marks the line of greatest crushing in the Fernando, except 
directly against the fault plane. Whether anticline or overturn, how¬ 
ever, the general conditions bearing on the occurrence of the oil must 
be practically the same. The composition of the Fernando is repeated 
in a constant succession of conglomerates, sandstones, and clays to the 
bottom of the series, and crushing, equal under a fold of either descrip¬ 
tion, must have produced equivalent effects of texture and structure. 
The prime factors in the field are the Puente fault, the crushing 
attendant on its development, and the contact of Fernando and 
Puente beds. 

OIL WELLS. 

The companies operating in the Brea Canyon held are the Brea 
Canyon, the Union, and the Menges. Other companies have drilled 
wells, but thus far without success The wells of the Brea Canyon Oil 
Company occupy a small area on the northern slope of Brea Ridge 
adjacent to the mouth of the canyon, their number being 21. To the 
east, also on the northern slope of the ridge, is the area drilled by the 
Union Oil Company, 32 wells being distributed along the strike of the 
beds for a distance of 1| miles. The Menges Oil Company’s property 
adjoins that of the Brea Canyon Company on the west, lying just 
west of the mouth of Brea Canyon. This company has two wells. 

The wells of the Brea Canyon Oil Company are sunk in the con¬ 
glomerate and sandstone of the Fernando formation, which strike 
N. 70° W. and dip about 50° S., both with considerable regularity. 
The strata cut are exposed, in part at least, in the northern slope of 
Brea Ridge and along the stream bottom, and include the bitumen- 
bearing sandstone referred to on a preceding page. It is impossible, 
however, to affirm that these horizons have furnished even a portion 
of the oil yielded, so at variance are the records of the wells when com¬ 
pared one with another and with surface exposures. It may be that 
owing to the crushing that has taken place adjacent to the fault and 
its possible extension to the region of the wells oil has filtered from the 
beds originally containing it into others until there has been a general 
diffusion of the fluid through the more porous strata along channels 
that for some reason have more readily permitted migration. In 
marked contrast, however, to the fine wells of this company on the 
south side of the canyon are those on the north side, where in strata 
far more disturbed little or no success has been attained. 

The wells of the Brea Canyon Oil Company vary in depth from 600 
to nearly 2,000 feet, in production from 12 to perhaps 1,000 barrels 
per day, in the gravity of their oil from 18° to 26° B. The heavier 


124 


OTL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


oil is said to come from the upper sands, the lighter from the lower. 
The product of the wells is run to a common tank with a resultant 
gravity of between 21° and 22° B. 

The westerly wells of the Union Oil Company adjoin on the east 
those of the Brea Canyon Company, and the territory in which they 
are drilled, except for a slight undulation of the strike from a few 
degrees north of west to an equal amount north of east, is strati- 
graphically and structurally similar so far as surface exposures indi¬ 
cate. A marked difference in the productiveness of the two areas 
has been revealed by development, however, the many conditions in 
depth familiar to all students of oil occurrence probably being suffi¬ 
ciently variant in the two areas to cause the widely differing results 
obtained. It is unsafe as a general rule to predicate the success of a 
proposed* group of wells upon that of a group already drilled, and, on 
the other hand, it is equally difficult to offer a tenable reason for the 
superior yield of one area over another, the conditions available for 
observation in the two being practically the same. Where there is a 
noticeable variation in surface conditions between two localities 
there is likely to be an equal variation in underground conditions, 
and it would not be unreasonable to expect a marked difference 
in the results of drilling. In illustration of this may be compared 
the eastern part of the Union Oil Company’s tract in Brea Canyon 
and the western part already referred to. In the eastern part the 
strata show a distinct bowing to the south, and, moreover, the area 
is in proximity to a complex of folds that are traceable from the 
Olinda field. The conditions in the western part are more regular, 
the beds dipping rather uniformly toward the south. While in the 
light of experience it would be impossible to predict whether the 
eastern area would be more or less productive than that a mile to the 
west, it would be a fair inference that there would be a material differ¬ 
ence in the yield of the two, and such a difference has been found by 
exploitation. 

The territory of the Menges Oil Company, which adjoins that of the 
Brea Canyon Company on the west, is structurally at variance with 
both productive tracts described above and has so far yielded smaller 
wells. The general horizon at which oil is obtained by the Menges and 
the Brea Canyon companies is the same, but between the two tracts, 
strongly developed at the sharp bend in the canyon, is a compound 
flexure involving the oil-bearing strata, in part at least, of both proper¬ 
ties. The flexure is as local as it is sharp, and disappears within a 
short distance of the stream. In the Menges tract, however, the strata 
are more disturbed than in that of the Brea Canyon Company, show¬ 
ing local and abrupt variations in both strike and dip, at one or two 
points with distinct overturns having a northerly dip. 

The foregoing discussion has been carried to considerable length at 
this point because of the typical example afforded by the Brea Can- 




U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XV 



PANORAMA OF OLINDA OIL FIELD. 

From Olinda Ridge, Orange County, looking west to east. 
















* 

















































PUENTE HILLS : OLINDA FIELD. 


125 


yon field of the varying conditions attendant on the occurrence of 
petroleum within a comparatively small area. This field illustrates, 
also, the impossibility of offering a definite opinion regarding the 
probable productiveness of a particular territory, an opinion fre¬ 
quently asked of the geologist by all interested in the petroleum 
industry. 

OLINDA FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The Olinda oil field lies 6 miles northeast of Fullerton, just within 
the southern edge of the Puente Hills, near the entrance to Soquel 
Canyon. It is connected with the main line of the Atchison, Topeka 
and Santa Fe Railway by a branch from Richfields, 4 miles south. 
As developed, the field extends along the strike of the measures, N. 
C)5°-70° W., about a mile and a half, the breath of the oil-hearing zone 
varying from one-eighth to one-third of a mile. The field is supplied 
with water from wells a mile or two out in the valley. In the immedi¬ 
ate vicinity of the productive area the principal features of topography 
include the main mass of hills, an exterior ridge which borders Tele¬ 
graph Canyon on the south and extends for a mile beyond the entrance 
to Soquel Canyon, and an inner valley separating the hills from the 
exterior ridge. Development has taken place in this valley and on 
the lower slope of the main mass of the Hills to the north. (See 
PI. XV.) 

GEOLOGY. 

The formations involved in the Olinda field embrace the upper and 
lower Puente shales, the Puente sandstone, and the Fernando con¬ 
glomerate, sandstone, and arenaceous clay. The lower Puente shale, 
the homologue of that in the Puente oil field, is exposed principally 
to the east of the developed territory, along Soquel and Carbonne 
canyons, entering but slightly into the higher portions of the ridges. 
The Puente sandstone is confined entirely to the main body of the 
hills, extending north and east from the edge of the field for many 
miles and forming the cap rock on all the higher portions as far as the 
Chino divide. The upper shale is not well developed, and it is ques¬ 
tionable whether it is present at some places in more than a trace. 
The Fernando formation constitutes the mass of the ridge south of 
Telegraph Canyon, the point of the ridge between Telegraph and 
Soquel Canyons, the hills west of the entrance to Soquel Canyon, and 
the low bench lands between the latter and Brea Ridge, at the west 
end of the field. It finally enters Brea Ridge and passes westward 
to the Brea Canyon field. It also underlies a considerable portion of 
the interior valley. These formations all extend to the region of 
Santa Ana River. 


126 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


STRUCTURE. 

The Olinda oil fields lie on the southern limb of the general anti¬ 
cline of the Puente Hills. The prevailing dip of the strata is, there¬ 
fore, to the southwest, but an opposite dip is encountered at many 
places by reason of subordinate folds developed on the flanks of the 
principal flexure. The axis of the main fold, which trends N. 65°- 
70° W., lies somewhat less than a mile north of the oil belt, those of the 
lesser folds traversing the intervening space. 

The northern edge of the oil belt, which is closely coincident with 
the base of the main body of the hills, is the locus of an extremely 
sharp fold that has many of the attendant features of a fault. In 
immediate proximity to it, also, is a trace of the contact between the 
Fernando and older formations, but whether this is a plane of fault¬ 
ing or of unconformity it is difficult to say. Perhaps the conditions 
are the combined results of the two, for the evidence for each at one 
point or another seems almost conclusive. The formations which are 
in contact are the Puente sandstone and the shales beneath and 
above on the north, and the conglomerate, sandstone, and clay of the 
Fernando formation on the south. 

The zone of disturbed strata is traceable westward directly into 
Brea Canyon and eastward across the point of the ridge between 
Soquel and Telegraph canyons well into the hills south of the latter. 
It is marked in numerous places by heavy seepages of oil, which, how¬ 
ever, appear to be from the Fernando rather than from the older 
beds. Beyond Telegraph Canyon the examination was not con¬ 
ducted in detail, but it is a significant fact that in the vicinity of 
Santa Ana Canyon, directly in the line of maximum crushing in the 
Olinda field, is another area of disturbance found by Mr. Homer 
Hamlin in a hurried inspection of the geologic conditions there 
existing. 

The evidence for a fault in the Olinda field consists in an irregular 
succession of beds, a zone of crushed strata for 200 or 300 feet on 
either side of the interformational line, sharp flexures with local down¬ 
ward curve of the Puente beds on the north of the suggested plane 
of displacement and upward bend of the Fernando on the south, 
and the high inclination of both formations. These features also 
attest to the development of the fracture subsequent to the deposi¬ 
tion of the Fernando, although prior to this period faulting might 
have taken place along a line practically coincident with the later 
displacement. In fact, there is ample proof in the hills area that 
the rocks of the Puente had been considerably folded before the Fer¬ 
nando formation was laid down upon them, and it may be that they 
were faulted as well. 


PUENTE HILLS: OLINDA FIELD. 


127 


The suggestion of unconformity is borne out by divergence in dip 
and strike and by the presence in the Fernando of materials unmis¬ 
takably derived from the older beds. It is, moreover, in harmony 
with observations throughout a large portion of the Coast Range. 
The fact that in the Olinda field, therefore, the Fernando formation 
lies at one point against the lower shale of the Puente formation, at 
another against the upper shale, and at still another in contact with 
the Puente sandstone, may be attributed to unconformity, to faulting, 
or to both. As already mentioned, the writer inclines to the belief 
that both of these causes have contributed their part in the develop¬ 
ment of the existing conditions. 

The principal features of structure in the Olinda field will now be 
taken up in somewhat greater detail. In the eastern third of the field, 
from the vicinity of the gulch containing Santa Fe wells Nos. 21, 32, 
36, and 38, eastward to the Columbia ground and Soquel and Tele¬ 
graph canyons, there appear to be two divergent lines of structure, the 
southern line marking the trace of the main fault, or of its alternative 
plane of unconformity between the Fernando and the older beds, 
maintaining the general trend of N. 65°—70° W., and passing across the 
lower portion of Telegraph Canyon; the northern, a line of severe 
crushing, extending more directly eastward or even a little north of 
east and following the gorge of Soquel Canyon. The northern line is 
confined wholly to the Puente formation. The combined effect of 
faulting and folding, together with the divergence in strike noted, has 
brought to the surface, north of the divisional line between Puente and 
Fernando, beds gradually lower in horizon toward the east, the pre¬ 
vailing dip being 25°-60° N. As the divergence increases additional 
crumples, some of them extremely sharp, appear in the Puente beds. 

Immediately north of the northern of the two divergent lines 
referred to above and close to the northern line of wells is located the 
axis of the general syncline that is so persistent and conspicuous a fea¬ 
ture alone: the northern border of the Olinda field. Its trend is N. 65° 
W. and it is especially prominent in the Puente sandstone. This syn¬ 
ch lie is of especial interest near the center of sec. 9, where are clustered 
several wells of the Santa Fe, Fullerton Consolidated, and Columbia 
(Puente lease No. 1) oil companies. At this point there is consider¬ 
able uncertainty regarding the stratigraphic horizon, both from the 
crumpled condition of the beds and from the lack of distinguishing 
characteristics. The Puente sandstone appears a short distance 
north of the wells, dipping to the south, but a'bout the wells the strata 
dip northward and have more the nature of arenaceous, granular, and 
muddy shale, with traces of the siliceous variety, in one instance 
faintly organic. On the whole the formation bears considerable 
resemblance to that underlying the Puente sandstone along the lower 
slopes of Soquel Canyon east of the Columbia wells (lease No. 1), and 


128 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


yet it is not unlike certain members of the Fernando. The writer is 
inclined to place the beds in the Puente and to regard the area as lying 
within a zone of especial disturbance that is manifest along both the 
main fracture and its northern branch, in all probability in an inter¬ 
fault block. The syncline is traceable in strike from north of east 
through north to north of west, and in a dip correspondingly variable 
from north to west and then to south around the east end of the 
trough, this being especially manifest in the heavier sandstones at 
the point occupied by the Fullerton wells, which lie close to the syn¬ 
clinal axis or a short distance off on its southern limb. Evidences of 
the syncline continue eastward to the bottoms of Soquel Creek in a 
constant repetition of the structural features of the Columbia ground 
(lease No. 1), a westerly dip along the axial line locally as high as 45° 
being especially noticeable. Bejmnd Soquel Canyon the identity of 
the syncline is lost. 

Most of the Columbia wells (lease No. 1) are located on the south 
side of the synclinal trough; some, however, are close to the axis, 
while two or three of excellent yield appear to be in strata that dip to 
the south or are intensely crushed. One of the deeper wells in which, 
up to the time of the investigation, no oil had been found penetrates 
at the collar the organic shale of the Puente. The others, which start 
in heavy sandstone, probably of the Puente formation, are highly 
productive. 

The easterly wells of the Santa Fe and those of the Fullerton and 
Columbia oil companies appear thus to have been drilled in the Puente 
formation, in ground whose structure is somewhat uncertain. Most 
of them lie a little south of the line of maximum crumpling. It may 
be inferred, therefore, that the horizon of their oils is approximately 
that of the oils of the Puente Oil Company’s wells 5 miles farther west. 
Moreover, the logs of the wells indicate the presence in depth of shale 
similar to that of the Puente oil field, whereas in other portions of the 
Sante Fe area the strata are of the more open and porous nature 
characteristic of the Fernando. This similarity of strata penetrated 
in the Puente field and the east end of the Olinda field accounts for the 
similarity of the oils of the two localities. The gravity varies between 
23° and 35° B., the oil of the Olinda field being somewhat the lighter. 

Typical Puente shale with steep dip is exposed a few feet east of the 
Columbia camp (lease No. 1) , several hundred feet south of the eastern 
wells of this company. The outcrop is in line with others of the same 
nature up Soquel Canyon, and it is probably continuous with them, 
the Fernando having here crossed to Telegraph Canyon. Loose 
shale fragments are also found over a considerable area in the same 
general region south of the wells. 

Along the middle portion of the field, in the eastern half of the 
Graham-Loftus tract, the strata occupying the face of the hills north 


PUENTE HILLS : OLINDA FIELD. 


129 


of the wells but south of the syncline, extending from the region 
^ ^ the lore & oin to paragraph, include yellow and gray con- 
cretionaiy sandstone of the Puente type, with the associated siliceous 
shale and a succession of sandstone and arenaceous shale, also yellow 
and gray but apparently devoid of concretions and of the minor 
organic forms that characterize the Puente. There appear to be two 
formations in juxtaposition—one undoubtedly Puente, the other 
closely resembling the Fernando. Their relations suggest the locus 
of the Puente fault, a view strengthened by the sharp disturbance 
affecting the strata in the adjacent gulches. The strike of both 
formations is the same, about N. 70° W. The fault plane, on the 
whole, is believed to pass a short distance south of the northernmost 
of the Graham-Loftus wells, No. 17, but north of the others in this 
vicinity. With the exception mentioned, therefore, all the wells in 
this part of the field have apparently been drilled in the Fernando 
formation, and this view is borne out by the fact that conglomerate is 
encountered at various depths in the wells of both the Santa Fe and 
the Graham-Loftus companies. The position of these wells is believed 
to be on the northern limb of the subordinate anticline south of the 
fault. 

Outcrops of conglomerate and siliceous shale about 125 feet north¬ 
west of the Santa Fe No. 12 well may be regarded as locating the posi¬ 
tion of the main Puente fracture for this part of the field. The strike 
of the conglomerate ranges from N. 85° W. to east and west; the dip 
35°-40° N. The shale, as usual, shows large crumples for a consider¬ 
able distance from the fault. The westernmost well of the Santa Fe 
Company, No. 37, is close to the line of rupture, possibly a little to the 
north of it. 

The structure just described continues with some variation, not 
only to the west end of the field, but into Brea Canyon and the terri¬ 
tory north and south. The locus of the fault as it crosses the divide 
between the Olinda and Brea valleys is obscure, but it is not far from 
the point of least elevation. North of this point heavy beds of Puente 
sandstone lie in vertical or overturned position, bending, however, to 
a southerly dip of 20° or less as they pass to the summits of the hills 
above. South of the divide and for a mile or more along the southern 
slope of the ridge north of Brea Canyon the siliceous shale of the 
Puente outcrops. Although this shale is in natural sequence with the 
Puente sandstone on the north, it is believed that, on account of irregu¬ 
larities in adjacent areas, the two beds are separated by the Puente 
fault, or at least by a subordinate fracture. In Brea Canyon the syn- 
cline that in the Olinda field lies immediately north of the fault dis¬ 
appears, although other flexures in considerable number, among them 
a syncline of some importance, may be observed along the slope of the 
lulls to the west. 



130 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Iii the region of the Santa Fe wells the details of structure for the 
area along the interior valley underlain by the Fernando conglomer¬ 
ate, in which much of the development has taken place, are somewhat 
obscure. In a general wav, however, it is evident that east of the 
western group of Columbia wells (lease No. 2) the strata are deflected 
from their general strike of N. 65°-70° W. to N. 45° W. in the vicinity of 
the southwestern Santa Fe wells, thence bending to S. 70° E. and 
passing onward into the ridge south of Telegraph Canyon. A trace 
of a similar and concentric deflection, with marked local folds, exists 
also in the rocks of the older formation northeast of the Fernando area, 
in the hill slopes north of the Santa Fe village, and the flat to the east. 
The explanation may be that compression took place after faulting, 
affecting the strata in a like manner on both sides of the general frac¬ 
ture. Still, this occurrence may be a coincidence rather than one of 
direct relationship in the movements of the beds. 

Again, the Fernando formation, though of comparatively steep 
southerly dip in the exterior ridges of the field, assumes a much lower 
angle of inclination farther north in the interior valley region, with an 
actual northerly dip, as evidenced by the logs of the wells of the Gra- 
ham-Loftus and Columbia oil companies, near the line of the fault or 
of maximum folds. (See PI. XI, sec. I-J, and PI. XYI.) In other 
words, there is apparently, through at least the western half of Olinda 

alley, an anticline whose axis coincides with that of the valley, trend¬ 
ing about N. 65° W. 

The anticline is clearly traceable in the eastern face of Brea Ridge, 
the axis passing through the southern group of wells of the Columbia 
Oil Company (lease No. 2), or probably a short distance to the south 
of all these wells. Evidences of the fold also appear in the structural 
lines that cross the crest of the ridge diagonally in Union ground, a 
mile west of the Columbia wells (lease No. 2), and in some of the 
gulches that cut the northern face of the ridge in the same vicinity. 
The strikes and dips vary according to the position of the beds in the 
fold. It is possible that the anticline continues westward to the Brea 
Canyon field, being identical with the fold suggested along the line of 
seepages in the bottom of the valley. Some irregularity is displayed 
in the disposition of the strata along the Eastern third of Brea Ridge, 
the Fernando formation being confined to the southern limb of the 
anticline, though crossing to the north of the axis in the region of the 
Columbia wells (lease No. 2), and possibly farther west, in the ridge 
between the forks of Brea Canyon. 

How far to the east the anticline extends is undetermined. It does 
not appear in the Fernando at the point of the ridge between Soquel 
and Telegraph canyons, although the Puente beds here have the oppo¬ 
site or northerly dip and half a mile up Telegraph Canyon show dis¬ 
tinct evidences of a fold. It may be that the anticline continues 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XVI 


Y 



^gP&El 


Clay and shale 


Barren sand' 


g§g%3 tfsm 

Conglomerate 


DETAILED GEOLOGIC SECTION THROUGH OLINDA OIL FIELD. 






































































































































PUENTE HILLS : OLINDA FIELD. 


131 


through to this point, the Fernando, however, no longer bending over 
the crown of the arch. 

The direction which the eastward extension of the Olinda field may 
take is somewhat problematic. The development in Columbia ground 
(lease No. 1) follows the northern fracture, or at least the line of exces¬ 
sive disturbance passing up Soquel Canyon to the entrance of Car- 
bonne Canyon; the surface conditions prevailing in the western half 
of the productive territory, however, continue across to Telegraph 
Canyon, except that the Fernando conglomerate is in contact with 
lower members of the Puente than to the west. Apparently the beds 
are somewhat transitional in their nature, gray micaceous sandstone 
and shale lying beneath the Puente sandstone, the precise horizon 
varying from point to point. The structure of the lower beds is very 
complicated. In the northern face of the ridge between Telegraph 
and Soquel canyons the rather heavy gray and yellow gritty sand¬ 
stone dips to the north, while the associated brown argillaceous shale, 
only 150 feet distant, has a southward inclination. The strike of both 
is N. 65° E. In the southern face of the ridge the principal dip of the 
older rocks is 45°-80° N., although half a mile up Telegraph Canyon 
the beds of the same character begin to show a southerly dip, which 
is maintained well into the hills to the south. The conglomerate south 
of these beds strikes N. 65° W., nearly parallel with the axis of the 
anticline referred to above; it dips 80°-45° S., according to the dis¬ 
tance from the fault line. It rests upon older beds that dip in some 
places to the north, in others to the south, the northward-dipping 
rocks lying near the mouth of Telegraph Canyon. The similarity of 
the conditions in Telegraph Canyon and in the western half of the 
Olinda field is thus obvious, and while there are slight differences it 
would, nevertheless, seem reasonable, from surface conditions, to 
expect equal chances for obtaining petroleum along the line of the 
fault or unconformity in the two localities. However, wells at some 
distance from this line, in the Fernando beds on the ridge south of the 
interior valley, have not yet proved successful. 

In the discussion of the relations of Fernando to Puente in the region 
of Telegraph Canyon the question of faulting or unconformity arises 
with the same force as elsewhere. The conditions are explicable on 
the basis of an unconformity, the upheaval and erosion of the older 
rocks prior to the deposition of the Fernando being presupposed; they 
may also be explained by faulting, or they may be due to the two 
causes combined. 

OIL WELLS. 

The oil wells of the Olinda field number over 100, and except a few, 
chiefly along the .outer ridge, all have been of wonderful productive¬ 
ness, yields of 700 to 1,000 barrels of oil per day having been reached. 
The maximum depth attained is 3,000 feet. The wells are ranged 


132 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


along two lines, the northern group following the zone of greatest dis¬ 
turbance, together with the fault, and the southern following the land 
line which separates the properties of the Santa Fe and Fullerton Con¬ 
solidated oil companies and having no connection whatever with the 
structure. 

The oils of the Olinda field vary in gravity from 12° to 35° B., the 
heaviest being found at the west end of the field in members of the 
Fernando, those of 18° to 20° B. in the southwestern part, also in the 
Fernando, and those between 23° and 35° B. in the eastern half of 
the productive area in various horizons of the Puente. 

/ 

CHINO FIELD. 

The Chino oil field occupies a small area on the crest of the divide 
between Soquel Canyon and the Chino Valley, 5 miles southwest; of 
the town of Chino. It is located on what appears to be one of the 
northeast-southwest flexures that radiate from the main Puente anti¬ 
cline. The wells, four in number, are drilled in the axis of the flexure 
and on either side. They pierce the Puente sandstone and under¬ 
lying shale, but the details of their logs were unavailable at the time 
of the writer’s visit. Aside from their commercial value, they are of 
especial interest as suggesting the possibilities of at least some of the 
subordinate folds in the hills. 

CONCEUSIONS CONCERNING FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. 

Whether petroleum will be obtained north of the line of maximum 
disturbance in the Puente fault zone, in rocks adjacent thereto, is 
questionable. Thus far wells in this position have been unsuccessful. 
A reservoir of coarse sand or other open-textured rock is filled with 
oil at the expense of the finer strata in which it may prove to have 
been but temporarily stored, or in some of which it may have even 
originated. Under conditions such as have been described, it may be 
inferred that in the region of the fault, along the southern face of the 
Puente Hills, the oil has been drawn from the beds north of the frac¬ 
ture zone into the more crushed and hence more open and porous 
strata of the same age south of it, and also into the still more receptive 
reservoir of coarse sediments presented in the Fernando formation. 
IIow great an area north of the fault may have thus been drained it 
is impossible to say. 

An argument in favor of productiveness of the Puente formation 
away from the zone of faults is presented by the Puente Oil Com¬ 
pany’s wells, which are drilled in an anticline in the lower division of 
this formation. Similar evidence is also offered by the wells of the 
Chino Oil Company, which penetrate the Puente, including the sand¬ 
stone, on a fold subordinate to the main Puente anticline, yet not far 
from its axis. That the lower Puente shale in these hills is generally 


PUENTE HILLS: YIELD AND GRAVITY OF OIL. 133 

oil bearing in some degree is recognized, that the Puente sandstone is 
also impregnated with bitumen is evident, but that the shale and the 
associated sandstone are everywhere impregnated to such an extent 
as to render them of economic value, under structural conditions that 
would be regarded as favorable, is improbable. 

PETROLEUM OF TIIE PUENTE HILLS DISTRICT.** 
YIELD AND GRAVITY OF OIL IN DIFFERENT FIELDS. 

The yield of the individual productive wells in the Puente Hills 
varies from 1 to over 1.000 barrels per day, those in the Puente 
field giving the lowest averages and those in the Brea Canyon held 
the highest. The wells of the Whittier field produce oil varying 
from 14° to 24° B., the yield of the individual wells running from 
2 or 3 barrels to nearly 175 barrels per day (in one well), although 
it is said that one or two wells went as high as 400 barrels at the 
start. The gravity of the Puente field oil runs from 28° to 34° B., 
but the average yield of the wells is lower than in any other part of 
the district, and none of the wells have gone much over 100 barrels 
per day, even in their prime. In contrast with the low production 
and high-grade oil of the Puente field is the high production and 
medium-gravity oil of the adjacent Brea Canyon field. The gravity 
here ranges from 18° to 26° B., while some of the wells yield as high 
as 1,000 barrels per day. Several flowing wells have been struck in 
this territory, one at least, it is said, gushing with a pressure of 
more than 250 pounds to the square inch. The Olinda field fur¬ 
nishes both high and low grade oil, the high grade, with a maxi¬ 
mum of 35° B., coming from wells in the northeastern part of the 
field yielding from 2 or 3 to 150 barrels per day, and the low grade, 
with a range of 18° to 20° B., coming from wells in the west end. 
Six “gushers” have been developed at Olinda, one of which is said 
to have flowed at the rate of 20,000 barrels per day for a short time. 
One of the flowing wells on the Santa Fe property is now (October, 
1905) flowing under a pressure of 100 pounds to the square inch. 

FACTORS IN YIELD OF WELLS. 

The factors governing the yield of oil wells, aside from the natural 
conditions—porosity of rock, pressure, etc.—are usually those con¬ 
nected with the manipulation of the wells, such as size of casing, 
loss of tools, caving in of casing, or accidents of one kind or another. 
Sometimes, however, the condition of the oil market has a most 
potent influence on the production by causing the partial or total 
shutting off of the wells; this has been the cause of a decline in the 
production of several groups in the Puente Hills district during 1905. 

a For a discussion of the physical and chemical properties of the oil of the Puente Hills, see pp. 
210-217. 


Bull. 309—07-10 









134 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The yield of most wells becomes less with the lapse of time. This 
decline is generally more marked during the first few months of the 
well’s life than later, when the conditions governing the flow appear 
to become more stable. PL XVII, giving the average daily yield 
by months of a group of wells in the Puente Hills district, illustrates 
graphically the common variations in the yield. The minor fluctua¬ 
tions in the curves are usually traceable to the sanding up or clean¬ 
ing out of the wells or to other local causes. 


ASSOCIATED HYDROCARBONS. 

Brea and gas are the only hydrocarbons associated with the oil 
in the formations of the Puente Hills district. Brea (sand or soil 
impregnated with oil from seepages, the volatile substances having 
evaporated) is found in all of the fields. The largest deposits in 
the district are in Brea Canyon, on the south slope of which are 
considerable areas covered by the material. No practical use has 
been made of it except locally for road dressing. 

Nearly all the wells in the territory under discussion yield more 
or less gas, especially in the earlier stages of their existence. In 
some localities the gas contains a considerable percentage of hydro¬ 
gen sulphide, to judge by the odor encountered in the vicinity of 
certain wells; in others the gas is of such a quality as to be used 
profitably both in the generation of power by gas engines and for 
domestic purposes. Among the companies making use of the gas 
derived from their wells are the Santa Fe, in the Olinda field, and 
the Murphy, in the Whittier field. The Santa Fe Company is said 
to use gas entirely for all purposes requiring the generation of heat 
and light on its property. Some years ago a well yielding gas 
under strong pressure was struck south of Whittier, in the western 
extension of the Coyote Hills anticline. This well never furnished 
any oil, and as the gas gave out the hole was abandoned. 

STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION. 

With the exception of the oil in the Olinda field, much of which is 
stored in open earthen reservoirs, most of the oil of the Puente Hills 
district is stored in circular metal tanks. These tanks are usually 
covered, and vary in capacity from 5-barrel settling tanks to stor¬ 
age tanks holding about 55,000 barrels. The tankage of the Whit¬ 
tier field is something over 200,000 barrels; that of the Puente 
field, including the Chino refinery, over 100,000 barrels; that of Brea 
Canyon approximately 85,000 barrels, and that of the Olinda field 
possibly 200,000 barrels. In addition to this, the Union Oil Com¬ 
pany has a storage capacity of about 150,000 barrels at Norwalk, 
the center of its pipe-line system, and of 37,500 barrels at San Pedro, 
its shipping point by boat. 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XVII 


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CHART OF VARIATIONS IN AVERAGE DAILY YIELD OF SIX WELLS IN THE PUENTE (MIOCENE) SHALE AND SANDSTONE TERRITORY (REGION OF 

LIGHT, OR 32° TO 34° OIL), PUENTE HILLS OIL DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA. 




























































































































































































PUENTE HILLS: UTILIZATION OF THE OIL. 


135 


The Union Oil Company owns all the longer pipe lines in the dis¬ 
trict, with the exception of the 13-mile 3-inch line of the Puente 
Oil Company from its property to its refinery in Chino and the 3-inch 
line of the Murphy and 4-inch line of the Central oil companies 
from their wells in the Whittier field to Los Nietos, 3 miles 
farther west. The Union lines comprise 17 miles of 5-inch pipe 
from San Pedro to Norwalk; 15 miles of 4-inch (some 5-inch also) 
from Norwalk to Los Angeles; 12 miles of 4-incli from Norwalk to 
Brea Canyon; 3 miles of 4-inch from Brea Canyon to Olinda, and 
4 miles of 4-incli from Whittier to a junction with the Norwalk-Brea 
Canyon line. 

The oil is shipped from Olinda and Los Nietos over the Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and the Southern Pacific Company 
has connections at Whittier and Los Nietos and also at the Puente 
Company’s refinery at Chino. The LTnion Oil Company is the only 
one shipping oil by water from this district, its loading point being 
San Pedro, which, as already mentioned, is connected by pipe line 
with Norwalk and thence with all the fields of the Puente Hills. 

UTILIZATION OF THE OIL. 

Much the larger part of the oil produced in the Puente Hills is used 
in southern California. Some of the product, however, is exported 
and shipments have been made to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Ari¬ 
zona, New Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, and even to Chile. In 
Alaska the oil is used principally for the development of power for 
mining purposes, while in Washington it is coming into direct com¬ 
petition with the local coal, which it is supplanting for purposes of 
gas production and as a fuel. The chief uses for oil in Arizona and 
New Mexico at present are in connection with mining. In the 
Hawaiian Islands the oil is used principally for fuel in the refining of 
sugar and for the development of power needed in the irrigation sys¬ 
tems on the great plantations. In southern California it is used for 
the following purposes, named in the order of the amount consumed: 
Fuel, illuminants, the direct development of power in gas engines, 
oiling roads, and lubricants. 

A new use for oil that has been developed during the past five years 
is for the purpose of road dressing. California is virtually without 
rain for two-thirds of the year, and as a result the subject of dusty 
highways is one of paramount importance. It has been found by 
experiment that the heavy oils not only settle the dust but, if prop¬ 
erly applied to the road, produce a springy surface which closely 
approaches that of asphalt paving. . The usual method of application 
is to scratch or break up the surface of the road to the depth of an 
inch or more, sprinkle on the oil by means of certain mechanical 
devices, and finally spread a thin coating of sand over the whole. 


136 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


This soon becomes packed and the volatile constituents of the oil 
evaporate, leaving a dustless, springy surface of asphalt, soil, and 
sand. Several municipalities use the oil process entirely for their city 
streets and hundreds of miles of country roads in southern California 
are treated in a similar manner. A recent judicial ruling which holds 
that the principle of road oiling is not patentable has greatly stimu¬ 
lated this use for the heavy oils." 


PRODUCTION. 


The gross production of petroleum in the Puente Ilills district from 
1899 to 1904, inclusive, was 8,241,081 barrels, as follows: 


1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 


Production of oil in Puente Hills district , 1899-1905. 


Barrels. 


217,599 

1903. 

511,550 

1904. 

909,588 

1905 . 

. 1,728,962 



Barrels. 
2,545,318 
2, 328, 064 
2,007,021 


These figures were compiled from data furnished by the officers of 
all the producing companies. Previous to 1899 the oil produced in 
this district came almost entirely from the Puente field. 

PRICES. 

The Union Oil Company has furnished the following table, showing 
the average price per barrel paid for crude oil (average gravity 
18°-19° B.) at the wells in the Puente Hills district: 


Average price per barrel , in cents, paid for crude oil at the wells , Puente Hills district. 



1901. 

1!H)2. 

1903. 

1904. 

1905. 

January.!. 


80 

49 

60 

44 

February. 



53 

56 

53 

March. 


80 

53 

57 

54 

April. 



44 

57 

48 

May. 



50 

58 

43 

June. 



51 

56 

45 

July. 


35-40 

55 

59 

57 

43 

August. 



54 

42 

September.. 


35-40 

55 

59 

41 

October. 


56 

56 

November. 


40 

55 

55 


December. 


40 

63 

55 


Average for year. 

80 

60 

53 

57 

46 


a For a detailed description of the road-oiling process see Prutzman, Paul W., Production and use or 
petroleum in California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 32, 1904. 





































PUENTE HILLS: OIL COMPANIES. 


137 


OTTj COMPANIES IX PITPXTE IIITjLS PISTPICT. 

The following list gives the names of the companies that have put 
down wells in the different fields of the Puente Hills district, with the 
number of wells drilled by each. Those marked with an * are not 
operating. 


Companies and number of wells in Puente Hills district , 1905. 


Name of company. 

Field. 

Brea Canyon. 

Brea Canyon. 

Buena Vista*.. 

Puente.. 

Bulla*. 

Whittier 

Central of Los Angeles. 

.do. 

Chandler (now Murphy)*... 

.do. 

Chino Land and Oil*... 

Chino. 

Columbia Oil Producing (lease No. 2). 

Olinda . 

East Whittier*. 

Whittier 

Fidelity._ / . 

.do. 

Fullerton. 

Olinda. 

Fullerton Consolidated.. 

.do. 

Golden Gate*. 

La Habra.. 

Graham-Loftus. 

Olinda. 

Hardison *. 

.do.. 

Holden *. 

Whittier 

Home. 

.do. 

Iowa*. 

Olinda. 

Joyce*. 

Whittier 

Los Angeles Petroleum*. 

La Habra. 

Menges. 

Brea Canyon. 

Murphy... 

Whittier. 

New England *. 

La Habra. 

North Whittier*. 

Whittier. 

Olinda Crude*. 

Olinda. 

Palo Alto. 

Whittier.. 

Palo Solo*. 

.do. 

Pasadena.. 

(?) 

Whittier. 

Price*. 

Puente. 

Puente. 

Puente (Columbia lease No. 1). 

Olinda. 

Santa Fe Ry . 

.do. 

Strong *. 

Whittier. 

Turnbull Canyon . 

.do. 

Turner.*.•-. 

.do. 

Union . 

Brea Canyon. 

Union (Sansinena)*. 

La Habra. 

Warner . 

Whittier. 

Whittier Consolidated *. 

.do. 

Whittier Crude . 

.do... 

Whittier-F ilmore . 

.do. 

Whittier Grand * . 

.do. 

Whittier Oil end Development* . 

.do. 

Whittier Producers * . 

.do. 




Number 
of wells. 


20 

1 

3 

46 

3 

4 
12 

2 

9 

12 

16 

1 

18 

1 

1 

18 

1 

1 

1 

2 

21 

3 

2 

a 

(?) 

i 

(?) 

1 
65 
28 
49 

3 

1 

8 

30 

9 

8 

2 
9 
2 

. 1 
1 
1 




































































































THE LOS ANGELES OIL DISTRICT, SOUTHERN 

CALIFORNIA. 


By Ralph Arnold. 


INTRODUCTION. 

* 

During the summer of 1902 Mr. George H. Eldridge spent about two 
weeks in the vicinity of Los Angeles collecting data concerning the 
geology and oil production of the region, but owing to poor health for 
a long time previous to his death in 1905 he had done little toward 
working this information into a report. Since Mr. Eldridge’s visit the 
city field has been considerably modified by the abandonment of many 
wells and the present state of development of the Salt Lake field has 
been brought about. It has therefore been necessary to make a new 
and more detailed examination of the same region in order to prepare a 
suitable report. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

jm 

% 

The writer wishes to fully acknowledge the value of Mr. Eldridge’s 
notes, which have been freely used and which have contributed largely 
to whatever of value there may be in the following pages. Acknowl¬ 
edgments are due also to the various oil companies and their man¬ 
agers, as well as to individual drillers in the district, for assistance in 
various ways and for information given by them during the course of 
the work. Thanks are due more particularly to Mr. E. J. Eginton, 
superintendent of the Clark Oil Company; to Mr. A. F. Gilmore, of the 
Gilmore Oil Company; and to Mr. W. W. Orcutt, geologist of the 
Union Oil Company. 

PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF THE REGION. 

After the researches of William P. Blake and Thomas Antisell, geolo¬ 
gists accompanying the Pacific Railroad exploring expeditions, who 
visited southern California in 1853 and 1855, respectively, and of 
J. D. Whitney, State geologist, who went over portions of the same 
territory in the early sixties, no important geologic investigations in 
the region of Los Angeles or in the southern California oil fields in 


13S 




LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: PREVIOUS REPORTS. 139 

general were carried on until 1894, when W. L. Watts began a study 
of the petroleum deposits for the California State mining bureau. 

Blake was the pioneer geologist in this region and his observations® 
are wonderfully accurate in view of the difficulties under which he and 
his associates worked. The part of his report relating to the southern 
California oil fields is that describing the region of the route traveled by 
his party, from San Francisquito Pass, north of Saugus, southward 
through Fernando Pass to Los Angeles and thence eastward to San 
Bernardino. He describes the east end of the Santa Susana Moun¬ 
tains, mentions Tertiary fossils found in Fernando Pass, and speaks 
of the eruptive rock (basalt) which outcrops in Cahuenga Pass. 
About 5 miles northwest of Los Angeles he found some “ light-colored 
shales, thinly stratified, and charged with bitumen, which formed 
black and brown seams between the layers/’ b and correlated them 
with the Miocene shale found in the vicinity of Monterey. Blake’s 
only observations bearing directly on the oil question refer to the 
bitumen which lie noticed exuding from the light-colored shale, and 
are as follows: c 

Those places are known as tar springs, or pitch springs, and some of them form large 
ponds or lakes. One of the springs was passed on our way to the city, and was near the 
outcrop of bituminous shale in the banks of the creek already described. This spring 
was nothing more than an overflow of the bitumen from a small aperture in the ground, 
around which it had spread on all sides, so that it covered a circular space about 30 feet 
in diameter. The accumulated bitumen had hardened by exposure and its outer por¬ 
tions were mingled with sand, so that it was not easy to determine its precise limits. It. 
formed a smooth hard surface like a pavement, but toward the center it was quite soft 
and semifluid, like melted pitch. The central portion of the overflow was higher 
than its margin; and it was evident that all the hard portion had risen in a fluid state 
and by the heat of the sun had been gradually spread out over the surface; at the same 
time being constantly exposed to dust, it had become so thoroughly incorporated with it 
that the compound had all the consistency of an artificial mixture. Tufts of “salt 
grass” were growing in some of the hollows and crevices of the outer portions of the 
hardened bitumen. 

During the winter of 1854-55 an exploring party under the direc¬ 
tion of Lieut. John G. Parke, accompanied by Dr. Thomas Antisell, 
geologist, examined the Santa Susana and Santa Monica ranges and 
the region adjacent to them as far east as San Bernardino. The results 
of this examination are set forth in Parke’s report, 0 one chapter 
dealing with the geology of the two and another with the plains of 
San Fernando, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino. By far the most 
interesting chapter bearing on the oil question in Antisell’s report is 
that on “ Bituminous effusions,” which gives a brief summary of all 
the then known bitumen deposits in the State. The following notes 
concerning the Los Angeles region are copied from this chapter : d 

a Pacific Railroad Report, vol. f>, pt. 2, 1850, pp. 65-88. 
b Op. cit., p. 70. 

c Pacific Railroad Report., vol. 7, pt. 2, 1857, pp. 75-86. 
dOp. cit., pp. 112-113. 



140 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Deposits of Los Angeles Valley .—. . . The asphalt is protruded through these 

strata near its contact with the argillite, forming distinct wells or springs, which over¬ 
flow. The land where they lie is owned by Captain Dryden,« who at the time of the 
visit was sinking a pumping apparatus for hoisting up the bitumen, which is very liq¬ 
uid at this locality, where it forms a small pond a fourth of a mile in circumference, 
thinner in the center than at the edges. Like the other varieties, it readily dries and 
forms a solid pavement some yards around the edge of the wells. A large quantity is 
occasionally raised and sold at the rate of 40 gallons for $5—$1 for 8 gallons. It is in 
some demand for flooring and roofing. The quantity drawn at present seems to have 
no effect in diminishing the supply, but as intervals of rest occur, owing to the limited 
demand, it is difficult to say what continuous supply could be derived from this source. 
Mr. Trask, in his report (Doc. No. California, session 1855), calculates the amount of 
asphaltum in the counties of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles as not less than 4,000 tons. 
As he only mentions two localities, that near the village of Santa Barbara and this at 
the pueblo Los Angeles, it is presumed he reckons these as the only sources of his esti¬ 
mate. He does not state what the data of the calculations are. The actual quantity 
already poured out on the Santa Barbara shore is vastly greater than at Los Angeles— 
perhaps 6,000 tons would be an underestimate for Santa Barbara, but as a source of 
asphaltum it is extinct, while that at Los Angeles is actively pouring out, although the 
accumulated overflow is much smaller. As a locality of asphaltum available for the 
present time, Santa Barbara is preeminent; as a source for future wants, Los Angeles is 
preferable. By following the line of upheaval on these hills and making borings in the 
sandstone strata, the bitumen might be reached, and thus other sources than the 
natural well might be drawn upon. Doctor Trask values the asphaltum delivered in 
San Francisco at $16 per ton, but this is an excessive valuation according to the price 
at the well or according to the calculations of freight from Santa Barbara northward. 
Allowing the value to be $7 per ton, and in Los Angeles Valley about 2,500 tons to 
be at present available, the actual present wealth of the valley in bitumen would 
be $17,500. This, of course, does not take into account the future supply. 

In addition to the descriptive matter Antisell gives a geologic sec¬ 
tion across the Santa Monica and Santa Susana ranges and another 
from San Pedro through Los Angeles to San Fernando. 6 

J. D. Whitney, State geologist from 1860 to 1874, describes the 
region from the San Fernando A Alley north to the Bay of Monterey, 0 
and in the same chapter enters into a discussion of the probabilities 
of finding oil in the Tertiary rocks of the Coast Range. He also 
severely arraigns the promotors of “wild-cat” oil companies, which, 
at the time of writing the report (1865), were preying on the credu¬ 
lous public. Another chapter is devoted to the geology of the Santa 
Monica and San Gabriel ranges and the vicinity of Los Angeles. The 
following are Whitney’s notes concerning the brea deposits in what 
is now the Salt Lake field: d 

About 7 miles due west of Los Angeles is the most important of the numerous tar 
springs seen in this vicinity. It is from here that most of the asphaltum used in the 
town is obtained. Over a space of 15 or 20 acres the bituminous material (which, 
when seen by us, in the winter, had exactly the consistency and color of tar) was oozing 

a The “old Dryden well” is located about three-eighths mile north-northwest of Westlake Park. 

& Pacific Railroad Rept., vol. 7, pt. 2, 1857, PI. V, figs. 2, 3. 

c Geol. Survey California, Geology, vol. 1, 1865, pp. 108-166. 

d Op. cit., pp. 174-175. 






LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: PREVIOUS REPORTS. 


141 


out of the ground at numerous points. It hardens on exposure to the air and becomes 
mixed with sand and dust blown into it, and is then known as “brea.” The holes 
through which the bitumen comes to the surface are not large, few being more than 3 
or 4 inches in diameter. On removing the tarry substance from the holes, by repeatedly 
inserting a stick, the empty cavity was very slowly filled up again. At one place there 
was a pit several yards square and 6 or 8 feet deep, from which the tar had been taken, 
but it was filled with water at the time of our visit in consequence of late heavy rains. 
The brea is used almost exclusively for covering roofs at Los Angeles, selling (in 1861) 
at the springs for $1 per barrel, the purchaser collecting it himself, which is done by 
digging a pit 2 or 3 feet deep by the side of one of the holes from which the tar is issuing 
and letting it lill up. A very large amount of the hardened asphaltum, mixed with 
sand and the bones of cattle and birds, which have become entangled in it, lies scat¬ 
tered over the plain. Before 1860 the experiment of shipping it to San Francisco for 
the purpose of distilling burning oil from it had been tried, without success, at least 
in a pecuniary point of view. 

A report on the geology of a portion of southern California, by 
Jules Marcou ; a a paper on the petroleum, asphaltum, and natural 
gas of California, by W. A. Goodyear, 6 and a paper on the origin, 
composition, etc., of California petroleum, by F. SalatheJ complete 
the list of more or less important papers bearing on the geology and 
oil industry of the region about Los Angeles up to 1897. 

In 1897 W. L. Watts issued the first d of his two reports largely 
devoted to the Los Angeles and adjacent oil districts. In this report 
he gives a brief outline of the geology of the territory discussed; lists 
and logs of productive, test, and abandoned wells, and notes on 
miscellaneous subjects, such as fossils of the oil-bearing formations, 
production, uses, and chemical and physical properties of the oil, 
refineries, drilling machinery, etc. Watts’s second report, 6 although 
covering the California oil districts in general, is still largely given over 
to the fields of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange counties. Chapters 
are devoted to a discussion of the structural conditions pertaining to 
the occurrence and distribution of petroleum in California, the uses 
and chemical and physical characters of the oil, etc., and in addition 
there are brief reports on the fossils of the oil-yielding formations hv 
J. C. Merriam, on the Humboldt County oil fields by F. M. Anderson, 
and on the oil-yielding formations of San Luis Obispo and Monterey 
counties by II. W. Fairbanks. 

A paper by G. II. Eldridge/ in the Contributions to Economic 
Geology for 1902, is of interest not only on account of its comprehensive 
though short description of the individual fields, but also because it 

a Ann. Rept. U. S. Geog. Surv. W. 100th Mer., 1876, Appendix II 1, pp. 158-172. 
ft Seventh Ann. Rept. California State Mineralogist, 1888, pp. 63-114. 
cThirteenth Ann. Rept. California State Mineralogist, 1896, pp. 656-661. 

d Oil and gas yielding formations of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties: Bull. Cali¬ 
fornia State Mining Bureau No. 11, 1897, pp. x+94, 35 figs. 

e Oil and gas yielding formations of California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 19, 1900, pp. 
236, 26 text figs., 35 half tones, 13 maps. 

/ The petroleum fields of California: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No 213, 1903, pp. 306-321. 



142 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


alone contains in epitomized form a number of the conclusions of this 
eminent authority regarding the California fields as a whole. A 
brief description of the Salt Lake field is given by the writer a in Con¬ 
tributions to Economic Geology for 1905. 

A most useful bulletin relating to the technical and commercial 
phase of the oil question by Paul W. Prutzman h gives maps and 
other brief data in regard to the principal oil districts, together with 
detailed information concerning the character of the oil and its uses 
for fuel, for oiling roads, etc. 

A short bibliography of the principal papers relating to the geology 
and technology of the Los Angeles and adjacent oil districts and to the 
oil industry of California is given on pages 199-202 of this report. 

LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY. 

The Los Angeles district, comprising the productive oil fields imme¬ 
diately north and west of the city, is located from 15 to 20 miles from 
the coast in the central part of southern California. Three transcon¬ 
tinental railroads—the Southern Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and 
Santa Fe, and the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake—pass 
through it, and steamers touch at Port Los Angeles, Redondo, and San 
Pedro, its ports of entry. 

The city of Los Angeles occupies an area of about 15 square miles, 
the greater portion lying west of Los Angeles River at its debouch¬ 
ment from the low hills, which to the west pass gradually into the 
Santa Monica Range and to the east and north into the San Rafael 
Hills and Verdugo Mountains. To the southeast are the Raphetto 
Hills, which with the Puente Hills farther southeast constitute the 
connecting link between the Santa Monica and Santa Ana ranges. 
The Elysian Park hills north of the city trend northeast and south¬ 
west. Their southwestern slope is gentle and extends into the great 
Los Angeles-Santa Monica plain. Their northeastern slope is abrupt 
and parallels Los Angeles River. Northwest of the Elysian Park hills 
is the eastern extension of the Santa Monica Mountains, somewhat 
isolated from the main range by Cahuenga Pass, which trends north¬ 
westward from Hollywood, a suburb of Los Angeles. The mountainous 
area east of Cahuenga Pass is cut into sharp ridges and deep canyons 
and culminates in Cahuenga Peak at an elevation of 1,825 feet. 

a The Salt Lake oil field, near Los Angeles, Cal.: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 285, 1900, pp. 224-226, 
fig. 9. 

b Production and uses of petroleum in California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 32, 1904, 
pp. 230, 64 figs. 







LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS. 


143 


North of the Santa Monica Range lies the San Fernando Valley, 
separating this range from the Santa Susana Mountains on the north. 
South of the Santa Monica Range and the Elysian Park hills is the 
broad Los Angeles-Santa Monica plain, which slopes gently south¬ 
ward to the Inglewood hills, southwest of Los Angeles. A physio¬ 
graphic feature which appears to reflect in a general way the under¬ 
lying structure—and if so may be important in determining the loca¬ 
tion of the productive territory—is the gentle declivity extending 
from the middle of the Salt Lake held northwestward toward Sherman. 

GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS. 

Tentative correlation of oil-bearing formations of southern California with the standard 

California geologic section. 


Pe¬ 

riod. 


o 

o 

S3 

c 

G 

<1> 


o 

o 

N 

o 

ca 

a 


Sys¬ 

tem. 

1 

Series. 

Standard Cali¬ 
fornia section.- 

G 

Recent. 

Alluvium. 

Quart 

nary 

Pleisto¬ 

cene. 

San Pedro. 


Pliocene. 

uTTuirhui ifTTTj 

Merced. 


Purisima. 



San Pablo. 

—Unconformity — 

h. 

G 

G 

Miocene. 

Monterey. 

Eh 


Vaqueros. 


Oligo- 

cene 

San Lorenzo. 

— Unconformity — 

Tejon. 

Martinez. 

— Unconformity?— 

Chico. 

Horsetown. 

Knoxville. 

—Unconformity — 

Granitic rocks of 
the Sierra Ne¬ 
vada. 


Eocene. 

Creta¬ 

ceous. 


Jurassic. 



Santa Clara 
valley. 


Sand and gravel. 

- Unconformity — 

Fernando. 

— Unconformity — 


Alluvium. 


Shale. 

Upper sand¬ 
stone. 

2 iLower sand¬ 
stone. 


Vaqueros. 


o3 fUpper. 

Red bed 
$ lLower. 

Topatopa 


Los Angeles. 


Alluvium. 


Sand and gravel. 
- Unconformity — 

Fernando. 


— Unconformity — 
Diabase intrusion. 


Z [Upper shale, 
gt Sandstone. 

3 Lower shale. 
P-i 

(?) 


Puente Hills. 


Alluvium. 


Sand and gravel. 
- Unconformity- 

Fernando. 


— Unconformity — 
Diabase intrusion 

2 [Upper shale. 

Sandstone. 

3 Lower shale. 

Oh 


(?) 


(?) 


— Unconformity — 

Granitic rocks of 
the San Gabriel 
Range. 


— Unconformity — 

Granitic rocks of 
the Santa Mo¬ 
nica Range. 


Black schist. 






























































144 


OTL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


GENERAL STATEMENT. 

The formations involved in the geology of the region about Los 
Angeles consist of (a) black micaceous schist; ( b ) a granitic series 
embracing diorite, gneiss, and other crystalline rocks; (c) more than 
2,000 feet of Puente sandstone of lower Miocene age; (d) about 2,000 
feet of upper Puente shale and soft, thin-bedded sandstone, also of 
Miocene age, (e) basalt and diabase intruding the previous forma¬ 
tions, but older than the following: (f) 2,000 feet or more of soft, 
thin and thick bedded sandstone, thin-bedded shale, and heavy- 
bedded conglomerate of the Fernando formation, largely of Pliocene 
age, and (g) a capping of Pleistocene gravels and sands of variable 
thicknesses. (See fig. 12.) 



Feet. 

100+ Alluvium and roughly bedded gravel, sand, and clay. 


2,000 + 


Upper portion thick-bedded soft sandstone with a few lay¬ 
ers of conglomerate and thin-bedded sandy shale. Lower 
portion, largely thin-bedded soft clayey sandstone and 
sandy shale, somewhat petroliferous near the Miocene 
contact. 


(Probable unconformity, beds of both formationshaving 
;T approximately the same dip. 


Upper half, thin-bedded sandstone and sandy shale, with 
some hard siliceous members and one or two bands of 
coarse sandstone, which usually carry oil. Lower half, 
alternating bands of thin-bedded siliceous shale and 
coarse sandstone. This and all older formations in¬ 
truded by diabase and basalt. 


9 


000 +• 


Coarse, heavy-bedded brown arkose sandstone inter- 
bedded with minor quantities of argillaceous and sili¬ 
ceous shale, the shale being relatively more abundant 
toward the top and bottom of the formation. Total 
thickness unknown. 


Basement complex of diorite and other granitic rocks and 
gneiss, associated with an extensive dark-colored mica¬ 
ceous schist. 


Fig. 12.—Generalized geologic section for the immediate vicinity of the Los Angeles oil fields. 




































































































































u.s. geological SURVEY 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


BULLETIN NO.309 PL.XVIII 


LEG EN D 



Geology by Ralph Arnold 1905. 

17 


7opography by U S. Geological Survey, 1894. GEOLOGIC MAP OF the REGION OF THE Eos ANGELES OIL FIELDS , CALIFORNIA F »'~ ~ 


Scale 625oo 
1 


? kuometers 


3 miles 


Contour- interval 50feet. 

Datum w ufiin *en U v ,q 

1906 . 


118 15 


Alluvium and (juatfnwry 
‘i rave I, sand, and clav 


r 


Fernando formation 
Conglomerate, 
sands tone, and slmle 

Sandstone 

(vippermost oil bearing) 
interbedded withMiocene shale | ^ 

in 


In J 

S' 


W, 


Shale,loiter portion 
sili ceous, upper portion 
arenaceous 


o 


UJ 


w 


o 

W 

X 

D | 

Q. 

i O 

C 

o 

Id UJ . 

Ctc< 

0- 

5 

b 

< 

i 1 

hr 

u 

uJ 


2 

Id 


z 

to 

(d 

3 

oJ 

o 

o\ 

u 

- 

z 


o 


o 

w 


D 

z 

i o 

o 

H 

UJ UJ 

Ctu 

0- C. 

D 

_l 

b 

cc 

CL 

o 



Puente sandstone 
Sandstone interbedded 
with. shale 



Black SC hist 



Diabase and. basalt 



Granitic rocks and 
gneiss 


0 il well s 


Brea 

Fault 

.Anticline 

Syncline 

Dip.s 





























































































































































































































LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS. 


145 


BLACK SCHIST. 

Black micaceous schist with a general northwesterly dip outcrops 
on the flanks of the Santa Monica Mountains about a mile north¬ 
west of Sherman and extends in a westerly direction along the south 
slope of the range for at least 15 miles. This schist is black to dark 
reddish brown in color, in some cases resembling certain hematite 
ores, and usually shows a very characteristic luster, due to the faces 
of the minute component mica flakes. Little is known concerning 
the age of these rocks except that they are older than the granite 
which bounds them on the east. It is certain, however, that they 
are pre-Cretaceous and very probable that they are Jurassic. 

GRANITE. 

A large part of the Santa Monica Mountains from the vicinity of 
Coldwater Canyon eastward to Los Angeles River is made up of 
granitic rocks similar in all respects to and probably contempora¬ 
neous with the granitic rocks which form the Verdugo hills, the 
northern part of the San Rafael hills, and the major part of the 
great San Gabriel Range to the north and east of the Santa Monica 
Mountains. In the region about Edgemont, northeast of Holly¬ 
wood, the rock appears to be a fine-grained biotite granite, showing 
considerable quartz in hand specimens, although weathering pre¬ 
cludes any exact determination of the composition. Biotite and 
hornblende granite, with some closely associated brown micaceous 
schist, appears to make up the larger portion of the crystalline area 
from Cahuenga Pass westward to Coldwater Canyon. With the pos¬ 
sible exception of the western contact, which is probably one of 
deposition, the rock of the Edgemont area appears to be separated 
from the adjacent formation by fault planes, although the exact 
nature of the shale-granite contact north of Ivanhoe was not deter¬ 
mined. The granite is younger than the black schist and is cer¬ 
tainly pre-Cretaceous and probably late Jurassic in age. 

i 

PUENTE SANDSTONE.« 

GENERAL CHARACTER. 

The oldest Tertiary rocks so far discovered in the Los Angeles 
area consist of a heavy-bedded sandstone which overlies the pre- 
Cretaceous granite and schist on the flanks of the Santa Monica 
Mountains and makes up the bulk of the Elysian Park hills and 
the hills on the northeastern side of Los Angeles River from Gaston 
southeastward to the hills east of Eastlake Park. The lower part 
of the formation is somewhat argillaceous and may correspond to 


a See note regarding divisions of Puente formation on p. 103. 




146 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

the lower Puente shale or to a portion of the Yaqueros formation, 
but the larger part is doubtless contemporaneous with the Puente 
sandstone of the Puente hills district. The best exposures of the 
Puente sandstone in the region about Los Angeles are in the Elysian 
Park hills, which are developed on the southern limb of a great 
anticline. (See PL XXI, B.) The formation as here developed con¬ 
sists of at least 2,000 feet of heavy-bedded, coarse-gray to rusty- 
arkose sandstone, interbedded at irregular intervals with dark-col¬ 
ored earthy and siliceous shale. The sandstone beds vary in thick¬ 
ness from 1 to 12 feet. Some are uniformly hard throughout, while 
others are concretionary, the concretions usually being elliptical in 
shape and in some cases coarser grained than the surrounding rock. 
As a rule, however, the sandstone is soft and falls an easy prey to 
weathering agents, being much less resistant than the interbedded 
shale. This differential weathering is well exemplified in certain 
ridges in Elysian Park, which cut transversely across alternate layers 
of the steeply dipping sandstone and shale, the latter forming promi¬ 
nent knobs at its outcrops along the top of the ridge. Jointing is 
well developed in the sandstone in certain localities, notably at the 
south end of Elysian Park, where hardening along the cracks of 
three different systems forms a kind of block structure. This is 
common in similar sandstones at many places throughout the Coast 
Range. In the region west of Edgemont and also along the hanks 
of the Santa Monica Mountains west of Sherman the basal beds of 
the Puente consist of conglomerate and sandstone, with appreciable 
amounts of interbedded gray to drab shale. The pebbles and cob¬ 
bles in the conglomerate consist of granite rocks, diorite porphyry, 
quartzite, etc., some attaining a diameter of 3 feet. In the region of 
the basalt intrusions and flows about Caliuenga Pass the sandstone 
appears to have been slightly baked, and is harder, more jointed, and 
darker colored than in the Elysian Park hills. It may also represent 
a somewhat lower horizon than the Elysian Park rock. 

FOSSILS. 

The Puente sandstone has yielded fossils in several localities in 
this region. In a street cut in Pasadena on the west side of Ray¬ 
mond Hill, about 2 miles northeast of the corner of the area shown 
in the accompanying map (PI. XVIII) was found the following fauna: 

Puente fossils from Raymond Hill , Pasadena , Cal. 

Area cf. montereyana Osmont. 

Chione n. sp.? (small, with prominent concentric frills). 

Leda cf. taphria Dali (PI. XXXVIII, fig. 5). 

Panopea generosa Gould. 

Phacoides cf. acutilineatus Conrad. 

Thracia n. sp. 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: PUENTE FORMATION. 


147 


Yoldia n. sp. 

Agasoma barkerianum Cooper. 

Natica or Neverita sp. 

Turritella cf. variata Conrad (PI. XLI, figs. 10 , 11, 12). 

Another fossiliferous locality is at Laughlins Hill, one-half mile 
southwest of Edgemont, where the following species were obtained: 

Puente fossils from Laughlins Hill, north of Los Angeles , Cal. 

Cardium sp. (large; sharp ribbed). 

Pecten crassicardo Conrad (PI. XXXI, fig. 1). 

Phacoides cf. childreni. 

Phacoides richthofeni Gabb. . 

Neverita callosa Gabb (PI. XXXI, figs. 4, 4a). 

Trophon sp. 

The following fauna, characteristic of the lower Miocene through¬ 
out the southern San Joaquin Valley and as far south as the Santa 
Ana Mountains, is found at the head of Topanga Canyon, about 3 
miles south of Calabasas, at the west end of the San Fernando A alley: 

Puente fossils from S miles south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County , Cal. 

PELECYPODA. 

Callista (Amiantis) diabloensis Anderson. 

Cardium sp. (sharp ribs). 

Cardium.sp. (square ribs). 

Chione temblorensis Anderson (PI. XXX, figs, 1, la). 

Dosinia ponderosa Gray (PI. XXXIII, fig. 4). 

Glycymeris sp. (large). 

Macoma cf. nasuta Conrad. 

Mytilus mathewsonii Gabb var. expansus Arnold (PI. XXX, fig. 2). 

Ostrea titan Conrad (PI. XXVII, fig. 2; PI. XXXII, fig. 2). 

Pecten bowersi Arnold (PL XXVII, fig. 1). 

Pecten cf. miguelensis Arnold. 

Phacoides richthofeni Gabb (IT. XXXII, fig. 4). 

Venus pertenuis Gabb. 

GASTEROPODA. 

Agasoma cf. kernianum Cooper. 

Bittium sp. 

Calliostoma sp. 

Cancellaria cf. condoni Anderson (PI. XXVII, fig. 9). 

Cerithium topangensis Arnold (PI. XXVII, figs. 7, 8). 

Chlorostoma (Omphalius) dalli Arnold (PI. XXVII, figs. 4, 4a, 4b, 5, 6, 6a). 
Cylichna sp. 

Dolichotoma keepi Arnold (PI. XXXIII, fig. 5). 

Drillia sp. 

Fusus sp. 

Macron merriami Arnold (PI. XXVIII, figs. 4, 4a). 

Neverita callosa Conrad (PI. XXXI, figs. 4, 4a). 

Ocinebra topangensis Arnold (PI. XXX, fig. 4). 

Purpura edmondi Arnold (PI. XXVII, figs. 3, 3a). 

Sigaretus perrini Arnold (PI. XXVIII, fig. 5). 


148 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Trochita costellata Conrad (PL XXXII, fig. 3). 

Trochita cf. inornata Gabb. 

Trophon sp. 

Turbo topangensis Arnold (PL XXVIII, fig. 6). 

Turritella ocoyana Conrad (Pl. XLI, figs. 7, 8, 9). 

Turritella variata Conrad (Pl. XLI, figs. 10, 11, 12). 

The above fossils indicate that the beds in which they occur are of 
lower Miocene age and probably equivalent in general to the Vaqueros 
sandstone of central California. 

UPPER PUENTE SHALE. 

GENERAL CHARACTER. 

Above the massive-bedded Puente sandstone and grading into it 
is a mass of strata at least 2,000 feet thick, in which shale beds of 
one sort or another largely predominate. No sharp line of demarca¬ 
tion separates this shale from the sandstone beneath, but as a whole 
they are radically unlike. The two members are differentiated on 
the map (Pl. XVIII) along a line which, it is thought, marks the 
boundary between the preponderance of the sandstone facies on the 
one hand and the preponderance of the shale on the other. The shale 
in the region north of Los Angeles may be roughly divided into two 
approximately equal parts, the lower 1,000 feet consisting of broad 
bands of thinly laminated white to gray shale interbedded with 
similar bands of more or less thick-bedded, coarse yellowish to brown 
sandstone, and the upper 1,000 feet or more being characterized by 
thin-bedded sandy and clayey shale and thin to medium bedded 
sandstone. At the top of the shale series is a band of thin-bedded 
hard white siliceous shale, interstratified with 2 to 4 inch layers of 
brown sandstone. The top of this band is used in mapping as the 
arbitrary line between the Puente formation and the overlying Fer¬ 
nando (Pliocene) sandstone. 

Most of the shale in the lower part of the member, and also many 
of the shale beds interstratified with the Puente sandstone, are of the 
hard white siliceous variety characteristic of the Monterey shale in 
the Coast Range. This shale splits easily along the bedding planes 
into thin, sharp-cornered plates. Fragments of these scales or plates, 
which are very resistant to weathering, are often found scattered 
over the ground and thus indicate the presence of the beds over areas 
in which outcrops may be rare. Abundant minute organic remains 
are usually found in the siliceous layers, but no recognizable mollus- 
can forms have so far been obtained from them in this region. In 
the territory northeast of Los Angeles the structure is complex and 
an exact determination of the position of the shale is impossible; but 
it is probable that most of it belongs to the upper part of the Puente 
formation. In the vicinity of Sycamore Park the rock consists of 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: PUENTE FORMATION. 149 

at least 400 to 500 ieet of very dark colored, highly carbonceous, 
thinly laminated gypsiferous shale, showing traces of sulphur on the 
weathered surfaces. Associated with this is dark-brown sandy shale, 
interstratified with yellowish limy layers containing gray to yellowish 
calcareous elliptical concretions as much as 5 feet in length. Thin- 
bedded white chalky shale containing numerous fish remains is also 
found a little to the southwest of Sycamore Park. In the region 
about the mouth of Cahuenga Pass, where the shale is intruded by 
diabase, it is much contorted and fractured, gray to discolored blue 
gray and rusty brown in color, in places gypsiferous, and much of it 
tending to concretionary structure. 

The upper 1,000 feet or more of the upper Puente shale consists 
principally of soft, thin-bedded clayey to sandy shale, varying in 
color from gray through light yellow to rusty brown and locally, 
where oil bearing, to bright tints of yellow and pink. A peculiar 
efflorescence characterizes the weathering of the sandy members of 
these upper beds in many places. At the top of the formation are 
two bands of thinly laminated, alternating hard white and soft drab 
shale, separated by about 125 feet of coarse sandstone, the latter 
being shown on the map (PI. XVIII) by a special legend. These two 
shale bands, with their interbedded and underlying thin-bedded 
sandstone, mark the principal oil-bearing zone in the Los Angeles 
district. 

Associated with the shale at the top of the lower half of the upper 
Puente shale is a 50-foot band of coarse arkose sandstone, which is 
shown on the map in the same color as the Puente sandstone. 

OIL SANDS. 

As mentioned in the preceding section, the productive oil sands 
occur interbedded with the shale near the top of the Puente forma¬ 
tion. Exposures of these sands are to be found almost continuously 
along the mapped oil-sand zone, running from the Sisters’ Hospital, 
on Sunset boulevard, to the bend in the Hollywood and Cahuenga 
Valley Railroad, on Western avenue. The surface exposures of the 
upper sands, which aggregate about 125 to 150 feet in thickness, usu¬ 
ally either are more or less impregnated with oil or asphaltum or else by 
their color show the effects of its former presence in the beds. These 
sands vary in color from brown to dark drab and in some instances 
show bright tints of pink, purple, and yellow. As a rule they are 
coarse and in places, notably toward the west end of the district, 
they are more or less finely conglomeratic. The concretionary tend¬ 
ency is also characteristically shown in certain of the beds. In the 
low hilly region flanking the Elysian Park hills on the west what is 
supposed to be the equivalent of a part of the oil sands is character¬ 
ized by large, hard concretions. (See PI. XXI, A.) At one place 


Bull. 309—07-11 



150 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


these concretions are round, while at others they vary from elliptical 
to irregular; they are usually 4 feet or less in diameter. In some of 
the layers of this band the grains of quartz and feldspar attain a 
diameter of three-eighths of an inch, in others the grain is finer. 
The color of the sands here varies from gray through light yellow to 
purple, the latter color indicating the former presence of oil in the 
rock. 

About 300 feet stratigraphically beneath the upper oil sands is the 
second productive layer. This consists of 40 to 50 feet of Thick to 
medium-bedded arkose strata, similar in all practical respects to the 
upper sands. Between these two principal layers and in the shale 
beneath the lower are other sandy beds, which are shown by the well 
records in the west end of the field to be more or less productive. 
The great bulk of the oil, however, is derived from the two principal 
layers just described. 

MIOCENE BASALT. 

Large masses .of basalt are associated with the Puente sandstone 
and shale in the region about the mouth of Cahuenga Pass and to the 
east as far as Laughlins Hill. From evidence to be obtained at dif¬ 
ferent localities in this region, both intrusive masses and surface flows 
are represented by the rock. Outcrops of a spheroidal type, such as 
that forming the little knoll three-fourths of a mile northwest of Hol¬ 
lywood, indicate the intrusions, while the vesicular facies found in the 
east end of Laughlins Hill tends to prove the existence of the flows. 
The usual color of the weathered outcrops is purplish red to reddish 
brown, the overlying soil in nearly all cases partaking of the character¬ 
istic color of the underlying rock. The igneous rock in the knoll 
three-fourths of a mile northwest of Hollywood, although doubtless 
genetically identical with the fine-grained basalt lying farther east, 
somewhat resembles in hand specimens certain forms of diabase. 

The age of the basalt is the same as that of similar rocks found north 
and northwest of Santa Monica in the Santa Monica Mountains, also 
in the Puente Hills, north of Brea Canyon, and in many regions of the 
Coast Range at least as far north as the Santa Cruz Mountains. The 
rock intrudes or is interbedded with the Vaqueros sandstone and Mon¬ 
terey shale or contemporaneous formations at one locality or another, 
but is unknown, except as worn pebbles in conglomerate, in any of 
the later formations. It is therefore of middle Miocene age. 

FERNANDO FORMATION. 

GENERAL CHARACTER. 

The line of demarkation between the Miocene and Pliocene forma¬ 
tions in the region about Los Angeles is not at all distinct. There is 
no doubt of the existence of a decided break between the white shale 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : FERNANDO FORMATION. 


151 


of the Miocene and the upper fossiliferous sand and conglomerate of 
the Pliocene, represented by a period of deformation and subsequent 
erosion. Just what plane in the stratigraphic sequence of beds marks 
this period, however, has not been determined. The interbedded 
conglomerate found in the fossiliferous lower Pliocene sandstone con¬ 
tains numerous waterworn and pholas-bored fragments of the charac¬ 
teristic white Miocene shale, and this evidence clearly proves the con¬ 
ditions of a break or unconformity. A marked unconformity is 
usually discernible between the Monterey shale and subsequent for¬ 
mations at most places throughout the Coast Range where the two 
formations are in contact, so that it is not at all surprising to meet this 
evidence here. Over many areas, both north and south of the Los 
Angeles district, similar evidence is corroborated by the presence of 
marked structural unconformities. Here this latter evidence appears 
to be lacking. 

It is necessary, therefore, to draw an arbitrary line separating the 
two formations. Because of the almost complete absence of the hard 
white siliceous shale from the Pliocene (Fernando) the line separating 
the Miocene (Puente) and the Pliocene (Fernando) has been drawn at 
the top of the uppermost layer of hard, white shale. This line is prob¬ 
ably somewhat lower than if it were drawn on paleontologic evidence. 
In other words, the lower part of what is here termed the Fernando 
formation (Pliocene) is possibly Miocene and may be contempora¬ 
neous with some portion of the San Pablo (upper Miocene) of central 
California. 

The basal portion of the Fernando formation consists of about 500 
feet of soft to compact, thin-bedded sandstone and sandy shale, with 
some zones in which the shale is fine grained and clayey. (See PI. 
XXIV, A.) The color of the beds ordinarily varies from gray and 
light yellow to rusty brown, except in those strata that are or have 
been impregnated with oil, many of which are chocolate, purple, or 
bright yellow. Above the purely sandy strata is a zone about 500 feet 
thick in which some of the shale is calcareous and very hard. Some of 
this hard shale, especially that which shows a tendency to concre¬ 
tionary structure, closely resembles certain of the Miocene shales. 
This zone of calcareous shale is also rich in gypsum, some of the veins 
being 2 inches wide. Most of the veins occur between the bedding 
planes of the shale, although some cut the strata transversely. 

Above the shaly portion of the Fernando are thick-bedded, soft 
gray to light-yellow sandstone and coarse conglomerate associated 
with some thin-bedded bluish-gray sandy shale or shaly sandstone. 
The thin beds of conglomerate in this portion of the formation are 
those already mentioned as being composed largely of waterworn and 
pholas-bored fragments of the siliceous Puente shale. This conglom¬ 
erate, as well as the sandstone and sandy shale, yields a characteristic 


152 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


lower Pliocene marine molluscan fauna. The thickness of the upper 
part of the formation is somewhat problematical, although the evi¬ 
dence at hand shows that it is 1,000 feet or more, making the total 
thickness of the Fernando over 2,000 feet. 

The areal distribution of the formation is most interesting when 
considered in its relation to the Puente. In the region of the oil belt 
the Fernando rests upon the uppermost Puente white shale in a great 
southward-dipping monocline. East of the oil belt and Los Angeles 
River this simple relation seems to be changed. Here, in the meager 
exposures afforded by rare gaps in the Pleistocene and alluvium 
deposits, occur what appear to be the lower, thin-bedded sandstone 
and sandy shale of the Fernando in contact with the Puente sand¬ 
stone, the white shale apparently being absent through the agency 
either of an unconformity or of a fault, or of both combined. The 
Fernando also extends southeastward to San Gabriel River, compris¬ 
ing the bulk of the sediments of the Raphetto hills, the west end of 
which is shown on the map. (PI. XVIII.) 

FOSSILS. 

The following fossils were obtained by Homer Hamlin from the 
Third street tunnel in Los Angeles and indicate the lower Pliocene age 
of at least this part (upper sandstone, sandy shale, and conglomerate) 
of the Fernando formation: 

Lower Pliocene fossils from the Fernando beds in the Third street tunnel, Los Angeles. 

Area multicostata Sowerby (PI. XXXVIII, fig. 1). 

Astarte sp. 

Lima hamlini Dali. 

Macoma sp. indiv. 

Ostrea veatchii Gabb (PL XXXIX, fig. 1). 

Pecten aslileyi Arnold (Pl. XXXIV, fig. 2). 

Pecten latiauritus Conrad (Pl. XXXVI, figs. 2, 3). 

Pecten opuntia Dali (Pl. XXXVI, fig. 8). 

Pecten pedroanus Trask (Pl. XXXVI, figs. 5, 6). 

Pecten stearnsii Dali (Pl. XXXV, fig. 2). 

Buccinum sp. indet. 

Fissuridea murina Carpenter (Pl. XL, figs. 3, 3a). 

Nassa hamlini Arnold (Pl. XL, fig. 9). 

Neverita recluziana Petit (Pl. XXXVIII, fig. 6). 

Plenrotoma sp. indet. 

Priene oregonensis Redfield var.? angelensis Arnold (Pl. XL, fig. 11). 

The following is a list of fossils collected by W. L. Watts in the 
vicinity of Los Angeles and largely identified by J. G. Cooper : a 

° Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 11, 1897, pp. 79-81. 





LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : PLIOCENE FOSSILS. 


153 


Pliocene fossils from Los Angeles and vicinity. 


Name. 

Los Angeles oil 

wells. 

Well on Green-' 

Meadow ranch. 

Shatto estate, West 
Los Angeles. 

Normal school, Los 
Angeles. 

Bittium asperum Gabb. 




X 

Calliostoma costatum Martyn.. 




X 

Carcharodon rectus Agassiz. 



x 

Cancellaria tritonidea Gabb. 



X 

X 

Cerithidea californica Haldeman. 

x 


Chama exogyra Conrad. 

x 




Clathurella conradiana Gabb. 

X 




Corbula luteola Carpenter. 



X 

Crepidula princeps Conrad. 

X 


x 

x 

Cryptomya californica Conrad. 


X 

X 

Drillia n. sp. (?). 



Diplodonta orbella Gould. 




X 

Glycvmeris barbarensis Conrad. 

X 

V 



Hinriites giganteus Gray. 




Kellia suborbicularis Montague. 


X 

X 

X 

Laqueus californicus ? Koch. 


Lithophagus plumula Reeve. 




X 

Macoma inqumata Deshayes. 

x 



Macoma nasuta Conrad... 

X 



x 

Mactra californica Conrad. 

*■ 

X 

X 

Mitra maura Swainson. 

X 


Nassa fossata Gould. 

X 


x 

Nassa californiana Conrad. 



x 

Nassa mendica Gould. 


x 


X 

Nassa perpinguis Hinds. 


X 


Neverita recluziana Petit. 




Ocinebra lurida Middendorlf. 

- 

X 



Ostrea veatchii Gabb. 

X 



Oxyrhina plana Agassiz. 


x 


Oxyrhina tumula Agassiz. 



x 


Petricola carditoides Conrad. 


X 

X 

x 

Pecten auburyi Arnold. 


X 

Pecten healeyi Arnold. 




Pecten pedroanus Trask. 




X 

Pecten stearnsii Dali. 




Periploma discus Stearns. 





Phacoides californicus Conrad. 





Placunanomia n. sp. 

x 




Platyodon cancellatus Conrad. 

X 




Saxidomus gibbosus Gabb.. 


X 


Semele decisa Conrad. 

X 



Tapes staleyi Gabb. 


X 


Tellina idea' Dali. 


X 

Terebratalia occidentalis Dali. 



Venericardia ventricosa Gould. 











Other localities. 


Hays Canyon. 


Reynolds & Wiggins well, Los An 
geles. 

Temescal Canyon. 


First and Olive streets, Los An¬ 
geles. 

Brown Canyon. 


Temescal Canyon. 

Clark estate, Los Angeles. 

Hays Canyon, Brown Canyon. 
First and'Olive streets, Los An¬ 
geles. 


Temescal Canyon. 

Reynolds & Wiggins well, Los An¬ 
geles. 


PLEISTOCENE. 

GENERAL CHARACTER. 

The Pleistocene deposits in the Los Angeles region comprise gravel, 
sand, and clay, the first mentioned predominating. The gravel and 
sand capping the Fernando in the region of the oil belt and farther 
south, especially on the top of the ridge on which the normal school 
is situated, are probably of marine origin; the rest of the deposits are 
largely fluviatile. 
























































































154 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The thickness of the Pleistocene, especially along the southern 
edge of the area mapped, is probably 300 to 500 feet, while in cer¬ 
tain of the terrace deposits, such as those on the hills north of Sher¬ 
man and on the terraces flanking Los Angeles River and Arroyo Seco, 
it may be only from a few inches to, say, 50 feet. 

BREA DEPOSITS. 

In the region immediately northwest of the Baptist College, in the 
territory one-half to three-fourths mile southwest of Colegrove and 
on the south side of the Rancho la Brea the Pleistocene and alluvial 
deposits are impregnated with asphaltum, forming brea. This mate¬ 
rial originates in two ways—heavy oil or asphaltum exudes from the 
surface and becomes filled with drifting dust and sand, or the fluid 
exuding from the underlying hard strata impregnates overlying 
porous gravel and sand. Details concerning the brea deposits are 
quoted under the heading u Previous knowledge of the region,” the 
older geologists having had an exceptional opportunity for studying 
these u tar springs,” which at the time of their visits were almost 
untouched and much more extensive than at present. In the Rancho 
la Brea deposits at the south side of the Salt Lake oil field many bones 
of extinct mammals have been found. (See PI. XXIV, B.) The fol¬ 
lowing notes concerning these remains are quoted from an unpub¬ 
lished manuscript by Dr. J. C. Merriam: 

The beds in which the bones occur extend over many acres. So far as I am aware 
the bottom has not been reached in excavations carried on to the depth of at least 15 
feet in quarrying the asphalt. Bones are scattered through a large part of the deposit, 
but are very unevenly distributed. In some localities they are present in large num¬ 
bers and in fairly defined layers. 

The asphalt has in many cases penetrated even the minute pores of the bone, but 
the original material of the skeleton is itself practically unchanged. 

The remains recognized up to the present include the following: Elephas, Equus , 
Bison , Mylodon (?), Smilodon, Canis indianensis (?), Cams small species and camel 
remains. Numerous bird bones and remains of insects are also found. 

In a considerable number of cases large parts of the skeleton are found together, 
showing that the carcasses were entombed so quickly that there was not sufficient 
time for decomposition to permit separation of the parts. 

Of the remains recognized up to the present time, an extraordinarily large percent¬ 
age represents Carnivora. The number of carnivores is certainly relatively larger than 
the usual percentage in a well-balanced fauna, and this abundance must be attributed 
to peculiar conditions under which the bbnes accumulated. Undoubtedly most of 
the remains are those of animals that have been entrapped or mired in the asphalt at 
times when it formed a sticky deposit around tar springs. The surface of the asphalt 
is very sticky in some places at the present time, and where cuts are opened in it tar 
may ooze out. Such pools have probably existed here interruptedly through a long 
period, and particularly during Quaternary time when the deposit was forming. 
Carnivores are numerous, because they were attracted by birds and mammals caught 
in the asphalt. Perhaps it is not entirely a coincidence that the carnivore remains are 
usually associated with those of birds or mammals, which would be their natural prey. 
The considerable number of young saber-tooth cats present may indicate that the 
younger and less experienced individuals were more easily lured into the tar pools. 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: STRUCTURE. 155 

Aside from their scientific value, these bones have the added sig¬ 
nificance of indicating that the brea-forming conditions which are 
now prevalent in this field were in operation during a large portion 
of Pleistocene time. In view of the great number of years during 
which the gas and oil have been escaping in this field, it seems rather 
remarkable that such prolific deposits of petroleum are still to be 
found in the underlying strata. These facts indicate the almost 
incomprehensible amount of oil that was originally contained in the 
Tertiary rocks over certain areas of the Coast Range belt. 

STRUCTURE. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The structural features in the region about Los Angeles are depend¬ 
ent on two systems of disturbances. The older of these consists pri¬ 
marily of folds, with jvhich are usually associated minor faults. This 
system dominates the Miocene strata and was probably largely devel¬ 
oped during the post-Puente (late middle Miocene) readjustment, 
which had such a widespread effect throughout the Pacific coast of 
the United States. The axes of disturbance of the Miocene system 
trend, approximately, N. 60° W. The younger system, in which 
faults are apparently the dominant features, was developed during 
late Pleistocene time and affects all the formations in the area. The 
general trend of the axes of the Pleistocene system is east and west. 
Minor faults with planes striking in various directions are common 
throughout the district. 

The most prominent structural feature in the district is the great 
flexure in the Puente sandstone and shale which lies northeast of the 
business portion of Los Angeles and trends N. 60° W. This will be 
referred to as the Elysian Park anticline. (See PI. XX, sec. E-F.) 
This anticline might almost be regarded as an elliptical structural 
dome, as it appears to plunge at both its northwest and southeast 
ends. Not far from the northwest extremity of the anticline where 
it approaches the fault zone lying along the southern base of the 
Santa Monica Mountains the fold develops into a fault. Near the 
axis of the anticline the beds in the southern limb dip gently, the 
slope becoming steeper and steeper, however, toward the south 
until, in the region of the shaly beds, dips of 60° are not uncommon. 
The northern limb is obscured by erosion, but the rocks composing 
it appear to dip at angles as great as 40°. Toward the south end of 
the anticline minor flexures are developed on its flanks and these in 
turn are squeezed up into what appears to be one or more closely 
folded overturns in the hills 1| miles east of Eastlake Park. Other 
folds of considerable extent and at least one prominent fault trending 
approximately in the same general direction as the Elysian Park anti- 


156 


OTL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


cline are exhibited in the Puente shale and sandstone to the north¬ 
east of the major flexure. Many of these latter folds are very sharp, 
dips of 60° or more being the rule. They are doubtless the result of 
tangential compressive stresses. South of Eastlake Park are vio¬ 
lently disturbed beds whose structure is rather uncertain. Appar¬ 
ently, however, they lie in a closely compressed anticline, with axis 
trending in a general east-west direction along a line making a com¬ 
pound curve. This fold affects beds of probable Fernando age. The 
apparent analogy of this anticline, if such it be, to those in certain oil- 
producing areas of southern California leads to the inference that oil 
may be confined beneath it. However, those wells which have been 
put down east of Los Angeles River have not proved successful. 

Southwest of the Elysian Park anticline is a syncline accompanied 
by a zone of faults. This flexure extends from the region southeast 
of Prospect Park in a broad northeasterly convex curve to the 
vicinity of the Sisters’ Hospital on Bellevue avenue and separates the 
steeply dipping shale on the northeast from the softer flatter beds of 
the rolling-hill country southwest of the line of disturbance. (See 
PI. XX, sec. E-F.) The southern extension of this syncline is trace¬ 
able as a fault from the corner of Sunset boulevard and Sutherland 
street to a point just south of Innes street and thence southeastward 
toward the Sisters’ Hospital, and is doubtless responsible for the breaks 
in the productive oil belt which occur in the vicinity of the hospital. 

The most prominent structural feature belonging to the east-west 
Pleistocene system is the fault zone extending along the southern face 
of the Santa Monica Mountains from Los Angeles River at least as 
far as Hollywood and probably much farther west. (See PI. XX, 
sec. C-D.) This fault zone has been largely instrumental in the for¬ 
mation of the range. It allows the upper Puente shale to come into 
contact with the granite, from which it is ordinarily separated by at 
least 2,000 feet of conglomerate and sandstone. Associated with this 
profound displacement are minor parallel faults in a zone which is 
characterized by man}" fractures and much distortion of the strata. 

STRUCTURE OF THE OIL BELT. 

The Los Angeles oil field is developed in strata at the top of the 
Puente formation on the southern limb of the great Elysian Park 
anticline. (See PI. XX, sec. E-F.) The trend of the productive 
belt, however, instead of conforming to the axis of the main fold 
follows the strike of the formations on the south side of a divergent 
subordinate fold and hence has assumed a direction closely approxi¬ 
mating east and west. The axis of the subordinate fold is traceable 
from a point near the corner of Lake Shore avenue and Temple street 
south of Echo Lake, westward to a point north of Westlake Park 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : STRUCTURE. 


157 


where its trend changes to N. 70° W. Thence it passes westward at 
least as far as a point 1 mile southeast of Colegrove, where it is proba¬ 
bly deflected still farther north of west and merges with the great 
anticline which tilts the Puente sandstone in a northeasterly direc¬ 
tion on the west side of Cahuenga Pass. (See PI. XX, sec. C-D.) 
Between Lake Shore and Bellevue avenues the fold either blends 
with the Elysian Park anticline or is replaced by some undiscovered 
fault or other form of disturbance. The latter theory is strengthened 
by the evidence obtainable both east and west of the Sisters’ Hospital 
where directly in line with an eastward extension of the fold there is a 
sharp line of disturbance (probably a complicated thrust fault) which 
extends to the east end of the field at the Catholic cemetery. (See 
PI. XX, sec. G-H.) Another line of fracture, consisting of several 
more or less disconnected minor reverse faults, lies south of the sub¬ 
ordinate flexure just described and toward the west diverges slightly 
from it. (See PI. XX, sec. E-F, and fig. 13, p. 171.) This «fault 
zone appears in general to mark the northern boundary of the pro¬ 
ductive belt. As a rule the beds lie nearly horizontal along the axis 
of the flexure, but dip more and more steeply toward the south as 
they approach the productive zone. The oil appears to have accumu¬ 
lated in the sands of the southern limb of the anticline just below the 
point where the steeply dipping beds bend toward the horizontal 
before passing over the axis of the fold. The structure in the Salt 
Lake field, in the southern part of the Rancho la Brea, appears to be 
that of a minor flexure developed on the flanks of the fold along the 
southern limb of which the other Los Angeles, fields are located. 
(See fig. 17, p. 180.) Apparently the axis of this minor flexure trends 
northeast and southwest. The brea along the south side of the 
Salt Lake field is formed by oil from underlying beds which probably 
has been forced upward by gas pressure along lines of fracture accom¬ 
panying this flexure. 

JOINT CRACKS. 

All the rocks in the Los Angeles district are intersected by numerous 
joint cracks, along which, in many instances, slight displacements 
have taken place. These tiny fissures have doubtless played a most 
important part in the accumulation of the oil, for it is probable that 
whatever was its original source the transverse joint cracks in the 
shale and sandstone are largely responsible for its transference to the 
upper porous beds of the formation. Without these cracks the numer¬ 
ous impervious beds in the series would have precluded the passing of 
any fluid, least of all low-gravity oil, upward through the strata. 


158 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


OIL FIELDS. 

LOCATION. 

The oil-bearing zone begins near the Catholic cemetery on Buena 
Vista street, at the southern base of the Elysian Park hills, and trends 
in an almost westerly direction to a point north of West Lake; here 
it bends to N. 60° W. and extends into the region south of Colegrove. 
Two miles southwest of Colegrove, on the almost level Los Angeles- 
Santa Monica plain, is the field locally known as the Salt Lake (so 
named from the principal company operating there), which, though 
topographically isolated from the main Los Angeles field, is, never¬ 
theless, probably genetically related to it. In discussing this subject 
it has been deemed advisable to divide the productive territory into 
four parts, differentiated more or less sharply along structural lines. 
The area extending eastward from the Sisters’ Hospital to the eastern 
limit of the productive territory at the Catholic cemetery will be 
described as the eastern field; that extending from the hospital to a 
line passing northward through West Lake as the central field; that 
extending northwestward from the region about the Baptist college 
as the western field; and that on the Rancho la Brea, southwest of 
Colegrove, as the Salt Lake field. (See PL XIX.) 

DEVELOPMENT.a 

The development of the Los Angeles oil district has taken placA 
spasmodically, four periods of activity marking its history. The 
first period, during which the central field was first opened, covers 
the time from late in 1892 to 1895; the second, in which the eastern 
field was developed, includes 1896 and 1897; the third, or period of 
exploitation in the western field and the west end of the central field, 
embraces 1899 and 1900; and the fourth, which marks the develop¬ 
ment of the most important part of the district, the Salt Lake field, 
extends from 1901 up to the present time. 

The history of the Los Angeles oil wells, or, more properly speaking, of the Second 
Street Park oil field at Los Angeles, is as follows: For many years a small deposit of 
brea was known to exist on Colton street Douglas street, in the city of Los Angeles, 
and the brea was locally used for fuel. .. ibL Messrs. Doheny & Connon sunk a 4 by 
6 foot shaft, 155 feet deep, at the corner of Patton and State streets, close to the deposit 
of brea previously mentioned. The formation penetrated is sandy shale, with a few 
thin strata of siliceous or calcareous rock. Near the surface the oil was very heavy, 
but at about 7 feet deep it was found to be lighter and it seeped from the sides of the 
shaft. The oil exuded from porous material and from the surface planes of the hard 
strata. The formation was found to dip toward the south at an angle of about 40°. 
Excavation below a depth of 155 feet was prevented by gas. An 18-inch hole was 
then drilled in the bottom of the shaft and yielded 7 barrels of oil daily for several 
weeks. In July, 1894, the yield had decreased to 2 barrels of oil a day. In November, 

a The writer is largely indebted to the reports of W. L. Watts for data of a historical character used 
in this paper. 






U.S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
CHARLES O.WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XIX 



Compiled Prom city engineer’s map and 
county records by Ralph Arnold, 1905. 


^Charts A C °m Pi, |f d W L Walk *r from locations 
y harles A ' Blackman and other sources 


Geologic sections shown on PI.XX and figs. 13.14-, 17 


3 


Faults 


Structural axes 


Contour lines 

showing approximate depth of the first oil sand below 
Los Angeles city datum ^255 feet above sea level). Those 
east of Bonnie Brae street are after W. L. Watts. Bulletin 
No. 19. California State Mining Bureau. Fig. 31 


Oil wells produc¬ 
ing or drilling 


Oil wells not 
pumping 


1906 

AJIOtNkcO Ml.TtM'JNe. 













































































































































































































































































































LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : DEVELOPMENT. 


159 


1892, an oil well was sunk at Second Street Park by Messrs. Dolieny & Connon. As 
soon as this well was found to be a success other wells were sunk on adjacent lots, and 
the Second Street Park oil field grew rapidly. By the end of 1895 there were more 
than 300 wells within an area of less than 4.000.000 square feet. During 1895 the price 
of crude oil at Los Angeles fell to a ruinously low rate, the average price for that year 
being 60 cents a barrel. Indeed, there were sales at a much lower rate—it is said even 
as low as 25 cents a barrel. The reason for this depression was the lack of cooperation 
among the oil producers and the lack of facilities for storing and handling the oil. 
Early in 1896 the price of oil commenced to recover, and in July, 1896, it had reached 
$1 a barrel. The reason of this recovery was the diminishing of the supply, the organi¬ 
zation of the oil producers, and the increased facilities for storing and handling the oil .a 

Development in the central field proceeded eastward until it 
encountered the disturbed and barren beds in the region just west of 
the Sisters' Hospital, where exploitation ceased. On the theory that 
this break was only local and that the productive zone continued 
eastward along the strike of the oil-bearing strata, a well was sunk by 
Maier & Zobelein at the corner of Adobe and College streets, in what 
is now the eastern field. This well was completed in November, 1896, 
and as soon as it was found to be successful many other wells were 
begun in the immediate vicinity, and by the middle of 1897 the wells 
in the new field were almost as closelv crowded as those in the old or 
central territory. Prospecting was continued east of Los Angeles 
River, but no economically productive wells were developed. 

The exploitation of the western field and the extension of the cen¬ 
tral field from the corner of Quebec street and Ocean View avenue 
westward took place largely during the latter part of 1899 and 1900. 
Some wells, notably the Ruhland, at the corner of Seventh and 
Hoover streets, and several of the Maltman wells, north of the Baptist 
college, however, were sunk previous to 1897. 

The entrance of the Salt Lake Oil Company into the Rancho la 
Brea region in 1901 marks the beginning of the development of the 
field now bearing that company’s name. For years the oil seepages 
and brea on this ranch had been known, and large quantities of brea 
had been hauled away for paving purposes. At least one prospect 
well had been put down near the brea deposit, but no important 
results were obtained from any of these operations. The first well 
drilled by the Salt Lake Company was abandoned on account of the 
caving in of the casing, caused by gas pressure. This fact being con- 
strued as a good indication, several other wells were sunk in the same 
localitv until finally a “gusher" was struck and the value of the field 
assured. Since the beginning of 1902 the development in this terri¬ 
tory has been rapid, and now it stands first in importance among the 
oil fields south of Santa Barbara County. 

Owing to the proximity of the wells to each other the oil-bearing 
strata in the central and eastern fields have been rapidly exhausted, 


a Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 11, 1897, p. 5. 





160 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

and many of the once-productive wells are now abandoned. During 
the past year (1905) the council of the city of Los Angeles took cogni¬ 
zance of this fact, and in order to do away with the nuisance of 
abandoned wells and pumping plants in a thickly populated residence 
quarter outlined certain districts within which all traces of the oil 
industry are to be removed within a certain period. This policy, if 
carried out, will eventually result in the abandonment of the city 
fields, so that probably in only a few years the thickly set derricks 
which now extend through the northern part of the city will be a 
thing of the past. 

EASTERN FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The eastern field comprises that portion of the productive oil ter¬ 
ritory of Los Angeles which lies between the Sisters’ Hospital grounds, 
corner of Sunset boulevard and Beaudry avenue, on the west, and the 
Catholic cemetery, corner of Cottage Home and Buena Vista streets, 
on the east. Its northern boundary is a line running from the north¬ 
ern part of the hospital grounds eastward to a point on the western 
line of the cemetery 600 feet north of Buena Vista street; its southern 
limits are Alpine street from the hospital southeastward to Figueroa 
street, and thence a line slightly north of east to the southwest corner 
of the cemetery. This area is nearly three-fourths of a mile long, 
with a maximum width of about 1,000 feet near the middle and a 
minimum of less than 400 feet at the ends; it contains approximately 
one-eighth of a square mile. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The eastern field lies on the southwestern flank of the Elysian Park 
hills, along the southern faces of the two well-developed minor ridges 
which are separated by Chavez Ravine. The topography, however, 
appears to have no connection whatever with the structure of the 
field or the extent of the productive zone, the line of wells forming an 
approximately straight belt from the low southwestern slope of the 
western ridge at the Sisters’ Hospital, up over the face of this same 
ridge, down into and across the mouth of Chavez Ravine, and east¬ 
ward over the lower portion of the eastern ridge. 

GEOLOGY. 

All the formations from the Puente sandstone to the Fernando 
beds are involved in the geology of the eastern field. North of the 
field and forming the bulk of the Elysian Park hills is the thick- 
bedded gray to light-j^ellow and rusty-brown sandstone of the Puente 
formation. This outcrops along some of the park roads and is excep¬ 
tionally well exhibited on Buena Vista street east of the field and 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: EASTERN FIELD. 


161 


west of Los Angeles River, where the peculiar jointing features, pre¬ 
viously described, are prominently developed. Above the sand¬ 
stone is the typical white siliceous shale, which extends in a broad 
band from the region of the Catholic cemetery northwestward along 
the flank of the Elysian Park hills. At the northwest corner of the 
cemetery this shale is very much crumpled, but northwest of this 
point it appears to be little distorted and dips about 45° S. 30° W. 
The top of the shale is marked by a 50-foot band of heavy-bedded, 
coarse light-yellow to brown concretionary sandstone, which is well 
exposed on the southwest side of Sunset boulevard near its intersec¬ 
tion with Sutherland street. At the west end of this exposure the 
sandstone is cut off by a fault which has thrown some shale beds 
down against the sandstone on the west. The sandstone, together 
with its underlying and overlying white-shale bands, may be traced 
in a southeasterly direction from the locality last mentioned toward 
the oil field as far as the quarries on the west side of the Chavez 
Ravine road. Its dip along this line is also 45° S. 30° W. What is 
probably a continuation of the same sandstone band is exposed on 
the east side of the ravine a short distance north of the corner of 
Adobe and Bernardo streets, but the rocks here are so near the frac¬ 
ture zone and so much disturbed that the correlation is more or less 
uncertain. This sandstone layer and its associated shale are easily 
differentiated in old surface exposures, but in fresh road cuts and 
quarries their identification is more difficult. The overlying band 
of shale, which is characteristically thinly laminated and of flinty 
siliceous composition, underlies a considerable thickness of medium- 
to thin-bedded soft sandstone and sandy shale. These beds are well 
exposed in the brick company’s quarries on the southwest side of 
Chavez Ravine. At the sharp bend in Figueroa street on the south 
end of the ridge west of the ravine, and extending westward at least 
as far as Ramona street just north of its intersection with College 
street, is another band of thin-bedded white shale which normally 
lies above, but which here is probably faulted down against the soft 
sandstone and sandy shale last described. This white shale is simi¬ 
lar to that lying above the oil sands in the region west of the Sisters’ 
Hospital and, like it, is much more resistant to weathering than the 
oil sands. If the two shales are identical it would be reasonable to 
suppose that the oil sands lie only a short distance beneath the shale 
at the Figueroa and Ramona street outcrops. This supposition is 
borne out by the wells only a short distance south of the white-shale 
outcrop, which strike productive sands at depths somewhat greater 
than 600 feet. Owing to the faulting down of the oil-bearing beds 
against the older strata on the north, no outcrops of the oil sands 
have so far been discovered in the eastern field. The beds overlying 


162 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


the oil zone are similar to those found in the same position in the 
central and western fields and consist largely of soft, thin-bedded 
sandstone and sandy shale, dipping approximately S. 10° W. 

GEOLOGY OF THE WELLS. 

The underground geology of the eastern field is similar to that of 
the central, and is what would be expected from an examination 
of the surface evidence in the region. Within the productive territory 
the wells first penetrate the sandy shale of the Fernando, after which 
they enter the Puente clayey shale and “shell” beds which mark the 
top of the productive zone. Oil occurs in two sands, the upper being 
about 55 feet and the lower about 25 feet thick. At the present time 
the upper sand is practically exhausted, having been pumped con¬ 
tinuously for nearly seven years. Ten or twelve barrels per day was 
not an unusual yield when the sand was first struck, and even three 
years ago some of the wells were still yielding 1 or 2 barrels. The 
gravity of the oil in the upper sand is said to be between 18° and 19° 
B. The lower sand is medium to coarse grained and at first yielded 
as high as 25 barrels in some of the wells, but, like the upper sand, 
soon fell off and is now practically exhausted. The gravity of the 
oil in this stratum is about 16° B. Considerable quantities of gas 
accompanied the oil in the lower sand. Water occurs at a depth of 
about 900 feet in the neighborhood of Yale and Bernardo streets and 
in the extreme west end of the field was so abundant as to stop devel¬ 
opment work in the region south of the Sisters’ Hospital. 

The two following logs illustrate the strata penetrated in the areas 
of low and steep dip, respectively, in the productive territory of the 
eastern field: 


Typical ivell log in the central portion (strata of low dip) of the eastern field , Los Angeles. a 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Sandy shale. 

Feet. 

325 

Feet. 

325 

380 

383 

395 

450 

453 

483 

485 

510 

512 

552 

Clayey shale, bituminous. 

55 

Hard shale. 

3 

Clayey shale. 

12 

Oilsand (oil 18.75° B.). 

55 

Hard shale. 

3 

Tough clay shale. 

30 

Hard shale . 

2 

Oil sand (oil 16° B.). 

25 

Hard shale. 

2 

Tough clay shale. 

40 



aHershey, O. H.. Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 19, 1900. p. 45. 


Typical well log in the eastern portion {strata of steep dip) of the eastern field, Los Angeles. 


1 

Thi ck- 
ness. 

Depth. 

Sandy shale with clayey shale toward hase. 

Feet. 

700 

Feet. 

700 

900 

1,060 

1,160 

1,204 

Oil sand (nearly exhausted when penetrated in 1902). 

200 

Clayey shale.... 

160 

Medium to coarse oil sand (25 barrels oil and considerable gas). 

100 

Clayey shale. 

44 















































U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


BULLETIN NO.309 PL.XX 



Section A-B 



Section C~ D 



.c V.*,oC'c' 3-V.o‘o; 
C>.‘o. o’.C j? 


>:© '.c?'. oTo ‘o ;< 5 * 

Alluvium an(1 Quaternary 


Fernando sandstone and shale 



Puente shale 


Scale 

1 / 

7 2 




OiL sands 


Puente sandstone 


1 m_ile 
=S 


GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE SECTIONS THROUGH LOS ANGELES OIL FI ELDS, CALIFORNIA 


\ I \ < 


Granitic rocks 


For-locution of sections see-Pl.XVHI. 


A HOEN 8. CC SALT ."MORE 





























































































































































































LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : EASTERN FIELD. 


163 


STRUCTURE. 

PI. XX, sec. G-H, illustrates the probable relations of the beds in 
the eastern part of the eastern field. The contour lines a in PI. XIX, 
showing the distance of the upper oil sand below the Los Angeles 
city datum (255 feet above sea level), also help to make clear the 
structural features of this district. As would be expected in a region 
where two important flexures come together at an acute angle, the 
structure is complex. The flexures referred to are the Elysian Park 
anticline, which trends N. 60° W., and the anticline and fault along 
the north side of the oil field, which trend in an approximately east- 
west direction. As the beds of sandstone and shale in the Elysian 
Park anticline approach the east-west line of disturbance, they tend 
to deviate so that their strike is more nearly east and west. Simi¬ 
larly, the beds following the line of the east-west disturbance are 
inclined to turn so that their trend is somewhat north of west as they 
approach the thick beds of the Elysian Park anticline. This tend¬ 
ency to change in strike occurs not only in the beds at the surface, 
but also in the oil sands, as is shown by the contours in PI. XIX. 

The structure in the major part of the eastern field is irregular, the 
average dip, however, being less than that of the central field. The 
inclination of the strata appears to be most regular just east of the 
Sisters’ Hospital. From this point almost to Bernardo and Yale 
streets the dip becomes less and less, but near the latter point it 
increases abruptly to 50° or more. Toward the east the beds are 
very much disturbed. Near the corner of Ramona avenue and Col¬ 
lege street the dip is about 35°. Immediately south of this point is 
a line of fracture, on the south side of which the strata dip 45°. 
The conditions beyond the east end of the field are not known 
because of the lack of surface outcrops and well logs. 

The line of disturbance which begins west of Sunset boulevard, 
northwest of the Sisters’ Hospital, and extends almost in a straight 
line to the corner of Bernardo and Adobe streets, appears to be a 
very sharp anticline bounded on the north by a fault in which the 
downthrow is on the south side. In a small cut on the west side of 
Sunset boulevard, in the axis of this zone of disturbance, the beds 
dip from 80° N. to 80° S. This has the appearance of an overturn. 
However, dips obtained in the subway between the Sisters’ Hospital 
and the boiler house and immediately north of the latter show an 
anticline with dips ranging from 45° S. through horizontal to 45° N. 
A similar northerly dip is found northeast of the hospital on the 
corner of Beaudry avenue and the alley between Beaudry and Hin¬ 
ton avenues. These dips occur in thinly laminated yellow sandstone 

a The lines showing the position of the oil sand in the central and eastern fields tire copied from W. L. 
Watts's map of this field, given in Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 19, 1900, fig. D. 






164 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


interbedded with minor amounts of arenaceous shale. The anticline, 
if such it be, is also exposed at the corner of Bernardo and Adobe 
streets, where the dip ranges from 75° N. through perpendicular to 
40° or 50° S. Here, again, the surface evidence indicates an overturn 
while the well logs suggest a sharp anticline. The productive wells 
are found, with few exceptions, on the south side of this line of dis¬ 
turbance. 

As before mentioned, there also appears to be a fault a short dis¬ 
tance south of this anticlinal axis, but what relation, if any, it bears 
to the productiveness of the oil sands is at present unknown. The 
fault which throws the oil-bearing beds in the field down against the 
older Puente strata of the Elysian Park anticline is apparently closed 
so far as escape of the oil is concerned, for no indications of oil or 
asphaltum have yet been discovered along its trace. The sealing of 
the north end of the truncated oil sands by the impervious material 
of this fault zone may account in a measure for the retention of the oil. 

In the vicinity of Chavez Ravine, and immediately north of the main 
eaist-west fault, which limits the productive territory of the eastern 
field on the north, the strata strike N. 80° W., with dips varying 
from 20° to 30°. A disturbance affects the beds, however, at the 
corner of Elysian Park avenue and Innes street, just north of Res¬ 
ervoir Hill, where they dip in a northwesterly direction, although the 
dips all around this point are uniformly toward the south or southwest. 

The territory between the eastern and central fields is considerably 
broken up and, as reported by the drillers, contains much water and 
little oil. This condition is doubtless due to a zone of disturbance 
which branches off from or is a continuation of the fault at the corner 
of Sunset boulevard and Sutherland street, and which extends from 
this point in a general south-southeasterly direction past the corner of 
Sunset boulevard and Innes street toward the Sisters’ Hospital. The 
character of this line of disturbance has not been determined, but it 
appears quite probable that it is a fault zone, with the downthrow on 
the east. 

DEVELOPMENT. 

The first well drilled in the eastern field was sunk at the corner of 
Adobe and College streets in November, 1896. From the time this 
well was found to be successful until the latter part of 1897 develop¬ 
ment v r ent on rapidly until nearly the wdiole of the productive territory 
was exploited. Since 1897 few 7 wells have been put down, while a 
number of those which at one time produced considerable quantities 
of oil have become exhausted and have been abandoned. There are 
at present (February, 1906) 270 wells in the field, of which 211 are 
pumping and 59 are either not pumping or are abandoned. The wells 
vary in depth from 500 to more than 1,200 feet and yield from 1 to 
12 barrels of oil per day. Some of the wells are said to have yielded 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: CENTRAL FIELD. 


165 


as high as 50 or 60 barrels at their inception, but these were unusual. 
In addition to oil the wells produce more or less gas. The oil is black 
and varies in gravity from 16° to 19° B., the lighter oil coming, it is 
said, from the higher sand. 

CENTRAL FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The central field occupies the territory lying between the Sisters’ 
Hospital, corner of Sunset boulevard and Beaudry avenue, on the 
east, and Coronado street, one-fourth mile north of Westlake Park, 
on the west. Its northern boundary is an almost straight east-west 
line drawn from the middle of the west side of the hospital grounds 
to a point on Coronado street about 100 yards north of Ocean View 
avenue; its southern boundary is Ocean View avenue from Coronado 
street east to Arnold street, thence a line east to the corner of First 
and Lucas streets, thence a line to the corner of Temple street and 
Beaudry avenue, and finally Beaudry avenue from Temple street to 
Sunset boulevard. The productive territory is about 1^ miles long, 
1,000 feet wide near its east end, and 300 feet near its west end. The 
total area is approximately nine-twentieths of a square mile. Like 
the eastern field, the central is a narrow band through one of the 
thickly populated residence districts of the city, the wells in many 
cases being put down in close proximity to houses and store buildings. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

Northwest of the business portion of Los Angeles and east and 
northeast of Westlake Park is a tableland or terrace lying at an ele¬ 
vation of about 100 to 150 feet higher than the main portion of the 
city. This table-land is bounded on the north and west by a ravine 
extending southwestward from a point immediately west of the north 
end of Echo Lake and is bisected by a narrow valley which contains 
Echo Lake and extends south-southwestward toward the business 
center. In addition to these, several small ravines drain toward the 
southwest from the top of the terrace. The central field occupies the 
top of the terrace immediately south of the ravine first mentioned, 
extends eastward across the table-land to the Echo Lake valley, down 
into and across this depression and up again on to the terrace, and 
thence across it to the eastern limit of the field at the Sisters’ Hospital. 

GEOLOGY. 

The formations involved in the geology of the region immediately 
adjacent to the central field comprise the upper portion of the Puente 
formation, with its two bands of white siliceous shale and the inter¬ 
vening sandstone layer, and the soft sandstone and sandy shale of 

i t 

Bull. 309—07-12 



166 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

9 

the Fernando. There is also a more or less persistent layer of Pleisto¬ 
cene gravel, which caps the upturned edges of the older beds over 
portions of the terrace. 

The sandstone between the two white-shale layers, which is the 
principal oil sand in this as well as in the eastern field, consists of 
about 150 feet of coarse }^ellow arkose sandstone in layers 3 to 24 
inches thick, interbedded with minor quantities of fine gray shale. 
Good exposures of this sandstone are found on Court street immedi¬ 
ately west of Lake Shore avenue and also on Burlington avenue a 
short distance north of First street. In the region directly north of 
Westlake Park the color of this same band, which here approaches a 
grit in certain layers, varies from chocolate and purplish gray to 
brown. The discoloration is doubtless due to the petroleum which 
the sands at one time contained. Similar colors were noted in sands 
which are supposed to be stratigraphically equivalent on Sunset 
boulevard northwest of Echo Lake. (See PI. XXI, A.) 

Interbedded with the thin white shale which underlies the sand¬ 
stone are darker, softer shale and fine sandstone which locally appear 
to be petroliferous. A cut in First street west of Burtz street offers 
a good exposure of this oil-bearing shale. These beds occupy the 
hilly country north of the central field, lying in low folds with dips 
that vary from horizontal to 10° or 15° and showing no continuous 
lines of structure. As indicated by well records, they carry traces of 
petroleum as far east and north as the region immediately northwest 
of Echo Lake, but the accumulations are not of economic importance, 
as they are in the same beds northwest of Coronado street in the 
western field. 

The band of white shale above the main oil sand already described 
is not over 50 feet thick, but owing to the resistant qualities of the 
thin flinty laminae of which it is composed it can- be more easily 
traced along its surface outcrop than any other stratum in the 
region. Angular fragments of thin shale strew the surface of the 
ground throughout the greater part of the distance from Lake Shore 
avenue westward to a point 1 miles southeast of Colegrove. If it 
were not for this hard, flinty shale the difficulty of tracing the con¬ 
tinuity of the formations north of the central field would be greatly 
increased. 

Above this flinty shale band lie the soft conglomerate, heavy and 
thin-bedded fine-grained sandstone, and sandy and clayey shale of 
the Fernando. This formation is probably over 2,000 feet thick, only 
the lower part, however, being exposed in the central field. In this 
field the soft, thin-bedded sandstone is confined largely to the lower 
500 feet of the formation. This sandstone appears to be more or less 
petroliferous toward the west end of the field, and as a consequence 
its outcrop is stained rusty red, purple, and pink. This coloration of 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXI 



A. NODULAR MIOCENE SANDSTONE AT LOS ANGELES. 



B. TYPICAL LOWER MIOCENE SANDSTONE AT LOS ANGELES 











































LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: CENTRAL FIELD. 167 

the bee Is is particularly noticeable along Ocean View avenue west of 
Alvarado street. Toward the east end of the field the sandstone is 
usually light to dark yellowish brown. Above the soft sandstone and 
sandy shale is a zone of fine-grained shale, several hundred feet in 
thickness. Some of this shale is hard and appears to be more or less 
calcareous. Veins of gypsum are abundant in this part of the forma¬ 
tion. Excellent exposures of this fine-grained shale are found on 
Beaudry avenue near Fourth street and in many road cuts both 
northeast and west of this locality. 

The uppermost beds of the Fernando exposed in Los Angeles lie 
south of the central field, occupying the ridge on which the State Nor¬ 
mal School is located. These are soft clayey shales and heavy-bedded, 
fine, light-colored sandstone with some interstratified conglomerates. 
The fossils listed on page 153 came from these beds in the region south 
of the central field. 

GEOLOGY OF THE WELLS. 

As indicated by the well logs, the underground geology varies some¬ 
what throughout the extent of the central field. The southerly dip 
of all the beds, however, is common from one extremity of the field to 
the other. The strata in general are less disturbed and dip at lower 
angles in the east end of the field, and the oil sand on that account 
appears thinner in that region. In the territory east of Belmont ave¬ 
nue most of the wells penetrate sandy and clayey shale (Fernando) 
for the first 500 or 600 feet. Beneath this is the oil sand, consisting 
of 125 feet of thick layers of coarse arkose material interbedded with 
thin clayey shale. About 200 feet beneath this sand is the lower pro¬ 
ductive zone, which consists of 40 to 50 feet of medium to coarse sand 
in layers similar to those of the upper zone. The two oil-bearing beds 
are separated in the northern part of the field by about 200 feet of 
tough blue clay, but toward the south this thins out and the pro¬ 
ductive sands tend to coalesce. On the south edge of the field the 
rocks below a depth of 950 feet consist of alternating clayey and coarse 
sandy layers, which replace the heavy, well-defined 10 to 15 foot sands 
farther north. The gas pressure is stronger and the oil more abund¬ 
ant, heavier, and redder along the south edge of the field than in the 
same beds nearer the surface in the northern portion. This reddish 
oil, it is said, gradually turns black on exposure to the air. Below 
the lower productive zone is 15 to 20 feet of clayey shale and thin- 
bedded sandstone carrying considerable quantities of water. The 
south edge of the field is defined by the line where this water becomes 
so abundant that it completely hinders development. The water level 
is said to be between 900 and 950 feet below the surface east of Bel¬ 
mont avenue and 1,050 feet west of it. 


168 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


The following is a characteristic well log from the northern part of 
the central field: 


Log of well two blocks east of Lake Shore avenue, Los Angeles. 
[Elevation approximately 400 feet above sea level.] 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Alternating blue clayey shale and fine soft sandstone. 

Feet. 

600 

Feet. 

600 

Same,- with oil seepages in sandstone. 

40 

640 

Blue clayey shale. 

60 

700 

Coarse oil sand. . 

70 

770 

Blue clayey shale, with sandy layers containing oil . 

180 

950 

Medium to coarse oil sand. 

50 

1,000 

Blue clayey shale. 

10+ 

1,010+ 



The following log is characteristic of the region about Second Street 
Park, immediately east of Lake Shore avenue, the well being two 
blocks southwest of that whose log has just been given: 

Log of well in Second Street Park, near Lake Shore avenue, Los Angeles, a 
[Elevation approximately 325 feet above sea level.] 


Sandy and clayey strata with thin strata of hard rock (“shells”) 

Oil sand interstratified with sandy clay... 

Tough clay (“putty”). 

Oil sand, with water. 

Sand with water. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

650 

650 

125 

775 

200 

975 

3 

978 


“Watts, W. L., Bull. California State Miniig Bureau, No. 11, 1897, p. 6. 


West of Belmont avenue the dip becomes steeper, and although the 
water line becomes lower, and the wells consequently can go deeper, 
the field narrows appreciably. Between Burlington avenue and Alva¬ 
rado street the productive territory is about 600 feet wide; west of 
Alvarado street it narrows to 500 feet, and at the end of the field, 
near Coronado street, to about 300 feet. Near the corner of Belmont 
avenue and First street the wells penetrate soft fine sandstone and 
sandy and clayey shale for the first 850 feet, below which they pass 
into a 50-foot zone of clayey shale, in which are interbedded petrolif¬ 
erous sandy beds called 11 stray” sands by the drillers. The oil sand 
is struck at about 900 feet and is 100 feet thick, the dip here being 
between 30° and 40°. At 1,040 feet there is a 70-foot sand, which 
grades below into a white sand bearing salt water. This constitutes 
the lower limit of the productive zone. 



















































































BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXII 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



A. EASTERN OIL FIELD, LOS ANGELES. 
Looking north from Baker Iron works. 



B. CENTRAL OIL FIELD, LOS ANGELES. 

Looking east from near corner of First street and Belmont avenue. 























LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: CENTRAL FIELD. 169 

A typical log for the part of the central field lying near Belmont 
avenue is as follows: 


Log of well at corner of Belmont avenue and First street, Los Angeles. 
[Elevation approximately 400 feet above sea level.] 


Thick¬ 

ness. 


Depth. 


Fed. Feet. 

Clayey and sandy shale. 850 850 

Clayey shale with interbedded oil producing sand (“stray ” sand). 50 900 

Good oil sand, medium to coarse. 100 1,000 

Clayey shale. 40 1.040 

Oil sand. 70 1,110 

White sand with salt water. 10+ 1,120+ 


In the region between Burlington avenue and Alvarado street the 
dip is steep, the oil sand being struck at about 700 feet on the north 
side of the productive belt, 900 feet in the middle, and 1,100 feet at 
the south edge. The strata above the oil sand consist largely of 
dark-colored shale and thin-bedded sandy layers, the latter occasion¬ 
ally petroliferous or water bearing toward the'base of the section. 
Owing to the steep dip in this part of the field, the wells remain in the 
oil sand for a much greater distance than thev do farther east. There 
are also indications of a tendency toward coalescence of the oil sands 
here, caused by a partial pinching out of the shale beds. One well 
near the north side was chilled for over 300 feet through productive 
sand, with only a few thin layers of shale. The water plane in this 
portion of the field appears to be almost level, being struck at a depth 
of about 1,200 feet on the north side and 1,250 feet on the south side. 
The water is salt, and displaces the oil in the sandy beds below these 
depths. 

From Alvarado street westward to the end of the field the beds dip 
at angles varving from 50° to 70°, and the width of the field is re- 
duced to a minimum of 300 feet. The strata are practically the same 
as those penetrated east of Alvarado street, the only difference being 
that the water plane is a little lower—at a depth of about 1,300 feet— 
and the wells are in consequence a little deeper. The wells here 
are said to be the most productive in the field, some of them having 
yielded 60 barrels a day at the start and kept up a steady production 
of 20 barrels for at least a year. Owing to the steepness of dip and 
the close proximity of the wells to the structural disturbance at the 
bend in strike, which occurs only a short distance west of the west 
end of the field, considerable difficulty is experienced from caving. 
Toward the northern edge of the field the wells go to 1,200 feet and 
obtain o-ood results, but much water is encountered in manv of the 
beds above the 700-foot level. At the south edge of the field the 
productive zone, which extends from a depth of 1,000 or 1,100 feet 
to the water plane at 1,300 feet, consists of clayey shale interstrati- 
fied with oil-bearing “stray" sands. 













170 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


STRUCTURE. 

The most important structural feature in the central field is a line 
of disturbance which extends from the region 100 feet or so north of 
the corner of Patton and Temple streets westward to a point on Ben¬ 
ton street about 200 feet south of First. (See PL XX, sec. E-F.) Near 
this last point it bends and passes to the northwest toward Colegroove. 
This structural feature is in alignment with the fault along the north 
side of the eastern field, and is probably a continuation of it. In 
fact, the only stretch of territory over which it can not actually be 
traced is that lying between the corner of Sumner place and Belle¬ 
vue avenue, northwest of the Sisters’ Hospital, and a point north of 
Temple street near Patton. Throughout this stretch and north 
and south of it for some distance the beds all dip to the south at angles 
varying from 8° to 35°, and no evidences of folding or important 
faulting were observed. 

The anticlinal structure of the flexure is attested by the fact that 
the beds dip to the south on Court street near Lake Shore avenue 
and to the north two blocks farther north. The more or less irregular 
position of the beds in the axis of this anticline near the corner of 
Temple street and Lake Shore avenue indicates that considerable 
faulting accompanied the folding. The exposures on Sumner place 
between Sunset boulevard and Bellevue avenue, in the region north¬ 
west of the corner of Patton and Temple streets, on Burlington avenue 
200 feet or so south of Temple, and on Benton street about 200 feet 
south of First offer further evidence in favor of the fault theory. 

The southern or productive limb of the anticline, although much 
the steeper, shows more regularity throughout the central field than 
the northern limb. It is considerably broken and irregular at its 
east and west ends, but these conditions are probably due to other 
lines of disturbance crossing its strike. The dips near the axis of 
the anticline are usually low, becoming steeper toward the south. 
The oil appears to accumulate in the steeper beds just below the point 
where they bend to the lesser dips near the axis. This is well shown 
in fig. 13, a section along C-F, PI. XVIII, across the field near Lake 
Shore avenue. The dips in the southern limb of the anticline in 
the east end of the field vary from 10° to 45°, becoming abruptly 
steeper toward the east end and reaching a maximum of 70° near 
the corner of Bellevue avenue and Victor street, just west of the 
Sisters’ Hospital. This marked change in the dip is doubtless in 
some way related to the line of disturbance described in discussing 
the structure of the eastern field (pp. 163-164) as extending south¬ 
ward from the corner of Sunset boulevard and Sutherland street 
toward the Sisters’ Hospital. To the west of Belmont avenue the 
dips become steeper, some of them being 70° or more, and the breadth 
of the field decreases in a corresponding manner. The productive 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : CENTRAL FIELD. 


171 


area is locally interrupted in the region immediately west of Coronado 
street, by the fractures attending the change in the direction of the 
strike of the beds. 

A line of minor faults, some normal, others reverse or thrust, is 
developed on the south flank of the major flexure. A normal fault 
occurs on Welcome street 150 feet south of Council, and an excellent 
example of the thrust faults is shown about 25 feet north of Colton 
street on the west side of Lake Shore avenue. This secondary line 
of disturbance seems to mark practically the northern limit of the 
productive territory over a considerable portion of the field, but it is 
problematical whether this is merely a coincidence of position—the 
productiveness of the sands depending on their distance from the axis 
of the anticline or their depth below the surface, or both—or whether 
the minor faults really seal the upper ends of the oil-bearing beds 



Fig. 13.—North-south section across the central field on the line C-F, Pis. XVIII, XIX, along the 

western side of Lake Shore avenue, Los Angeles. 

and thus limit the field. The fact that a few productive wells are 
found north of the line of faulting offers evidence refuting the absolute 
effectiveness of the barrier even though it is operative over a portion 
of the territory, unless the explanation is that these wells pass through 
the tilted fault plane and derive their oil from the productive beds 
below and to the south of it. 

North of the main line of disturbance the beds for the most par- 
show local flexures with low dip; these apparently bear little relat 
tion to the major structural features or to each other. The general 
anticlinal structure of the major flexure described in the preceding 
paragraphs is evidenced, however, by the recurrence in two knolls, 
cut through by Sunset boulevard northwest of Echo Lake, of the 
coarse sandstone (oil sands) found south of the axis in immediate 
proximity to the northern boundary of the central field. 




































172 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


DEVELOPMENT. 

The central is the oldest field in the Los Angeles district, its first 
productive well having been sunk in 1892. As soon as oil was assured 
other wells were drilled in the immediate vicinity, and the field grew 
rapidly. The development of that part of the field lying east of 
First street was practically complete by the end of 1896, while most 
of the wells in the western part were sunk during the period from 
1897 to 1900. There are at present (February, 1906) 516 wells in 
the central field, of which 206, or about 40 per cent, are pumping, 
while 310, or about 60 per cent, are either abandoned or not pumping. 
In the region west of Bonnie Brae street the proportion of pumping 
wells is 60 per cent, but in the eastern part of the field it is only 31 
per cent. This is doubtless due to the greater age of the eastern 
wells. The wells vary in depth from 500 to 1,400 feet, averaging 
deeper in the western than in the eastern part. The eastern wells 
now produce from 2 to 8 barrels per day, and the western wells go 
considerably higher, some possibly to 12 or 15 barrels. The average 
for the field is said to be about 4 barrels. At their inception some of 
the wells in the western part of the field gave 60 barrels per day, 
but soon fell off to 20 barrels. The gravity of the oil in this field 
varies from 14° to 16° B. 

WESTERN FIELD. 

LOCATION. 

The western field includes all of the oil-producing territory lying 
to the west and northwest of Coronado street, north of Westlake 
Park, with the exception of the area described on pages 186-195 as 
the Salt Lake field. In its restricted sense the western field is a belt 
trending N. 70° W., about one-half mile wide at its southeast end 
and one-fourtli mile wide at its western terminus southeast of Cole- 
grove. Within this area of about 1| square miles are four rather 
distinct groups of wells, the area covered by them being, something 
less than one-lialf the total area of the oil-yielding belt. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The region of the western field, viewed topographically, is one of 
transition from the pronounced hilly country northwest of Elysian 
Park to the broad, gently southward-dipping Los Angeles-Santa 
Monica plain. Its characteristic features are low rolling hills, sepa¬ 
rated by more or less strongly pronounced ravines, which run in a 
southerly or southwesterly direction. 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: WESTERN FIELD. 


173 


GEOLOGY. 

Superficial Pleistocene deposits cover a large part of the western 
field, but from the examination of exposures along the ravines in its 
eastern part and from a study of the well logs it is known that the 
formations underlying it are the same as those exposed in the eastern 
and central fields. These are the lower Puente sandstones, the 
Puente shale and thin-bedded sandstone, the Fernando sandstone, 
and the Pleistocene gravel, sand, and clay. 

The most prominent bed exposed is the coarse sandstone which 
lies between the bands of hard, white, thin-bedded shale at the top 
of the Puente formation. Exposures of this sandstone may be 
traced from the hill one-half mile north of Westlake Park to the bend 
in the Hollywood and Cahuenga Valley Railroad at the corner of 
Western avenue and Temple road. The exposures one-half mile 
north of Westlake Park show a medium to coarse or rather gritty 
sandstone, with colors varying from light yellow and brown to choco¬ 
late, gray, and dark brown. The beds are considerably disturbed, 
being near the point of change of strike from N. 80° W. to N. 65°-70°* 
N. West of this locality, toward the Baptist College, the sandstone 
outcrops along the face of the hill east of Occidental boulevard. 
Still farther west, at the corner of Commonwealth avenue and Geneva 
street, the sandstone dips 20° S. 20° W. and is interbedded toward 
the top with some thin layers of hard siliceous shale. Immediately 
southwest of the Baptist College the same sandstone, highly impreg¬ 
nated with oil, in layers from 12 to 36 inches thick, has a dip of 
20° S. At this point the sandstone is coarse and chocolate colored, 
and is interbedded with 1- to 12-inch layers of chocolate-colored 
shale, which contains large quantities of carbonaceous matter and 
some sulphur. 

Immediatel} 7 ' north of the Baptist College are some exposures of 
white thin-bedded shale, interbedded with softer, darker-colored 
shale which dips toward the south, under the coarse sandstone. This 
shale continues toward the northwest and is exposed in a much crum¬ 
pled condition on First street about one block east of Vermont avenue. 
It also occurs in a small ravine near the junction of Rosedale avenue 
and the Hollywood and Cahuenga Valley Railroad. The last good 
exposure is found on Western avenue, just north of Temple road. In¬ 
terbedded in the shale about 300 feet stratigraphically below the main 
layer of coarse sandstone, is a band of somewhat similar sandstone 
which appears to be the principal productive bed in the western field. 
This lower sand is well shown in a cut on the Hollywood and Cahuenga 
Valley Railroad at Vermont avenue. The dip here is 10° due west. 
The sandstone looks very much like that exposed on Sunset boulevard 
and has similar large ellipsoidal concretions. It does not appear to 


174 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


contain any prominent shale layers, although it is overlain and under¬ 
lain by the thin white siliceous beds. As exposed in this railroad cut 
the sand is about 50 feet thick, but the records of wells in other parts 
of the field show that it varies considerably in thickness and also in 
the number and prominence of the included shale layers. 

Above the upper coarse sandstone are some layers of thin-bedded 
white shale, which may be traced westward from the region immedi¬ 
ately north of Westlake Park toward the corner of Fifth and Hoover 
streets, and thence northwestward across Vermont avenue to Western 
avenue, which it crosses about one-fourtli of a mile south of Temple 
road. This shale, according to the well records in the region south¬ 
west of the corner of Western avenue and Temple road, probably 
averages somewhat thicker in the western field than it does in the 
central. 

The Fernando is represented in the western field by rather hard 
gray to chocolate-colored shale, exposed on a small creek southwest 
of the Baptist College. The beds dip 22° S. 25° W. Some soft, thin- 
bedded sandstone and sandy shale also occur in the formation above 
the hard beds near the base. Although there are few outcrops to cor¬ 
roborate the assertion, it is exceedingly probable that the Fernando 
overlies the Puente over the whole extent of the Los Angeles-Santa 
Monica plain, south of Temple road and at least as far west as the 
west end of Rancho la Brea. 

As previously stated, the Pleistocene deposits consist of gravel, 
sand, and clay and lie unconformably upon the older rocks from the 
foot of the Santa Monica Mountains southward across the Los An¬ 
geles-Santa Monica plain. An excellent exposure of the Pleistocene 
occurs in the ravine northwest of the Baptist College. This deposit 
consists of sand and gravel of granitic quartz, sandstone, and shale 
fragments, some of the cobbles attaining a diameter of over 6 inches. 
The whole is richly impregnated with heavy oil, which seeps from the 
underlying sandstone and shale and imparts a dark chocolate color to 
the mass. Pleistocene deposits, consisting of roughly bedded sand 
and gravel, lying in an approximately horizontal position, may also be 
seen in cuts along some of the roads west of Hoover street. 

GEOLOGY OF THE WELLS. 

For convenience of discussion, the western field will be divided into 
four areas corresponding to the four more or less distinct groups of 
wells which it comprises. The first area—the largest and by far the 
most important—embraces the territory in the vicinity of the Baptist 
College, and is bounded by Coronado street on the southeast and by 
Rosedale avenue on the west; the second area includes the region 
about the bend in the Hollywood and Cahuenga Valley Railroad at 
the corner of Western avenue and Temple road; the third is located 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : WESTERN FIELD. 


175 


two or three blocks northwest of the second; and the fourth covers a 
few acres at the east end of the Rancho la Brea about a mile south of 
Colegrove. 

o 

BAPTIST COLLEGE AREA. 

A reference to the geologic map (PL XVIIIj will show that within 
the Baptist College area are the outcrops of five distinct zones, which 
are, from the base up, the oil-bearing thin-bedded shale and sandstone 
of the Puente formation, southwest of these the 150-foot oil sand of 
the central field, the white-shale zone at the top of the Puente, the 
thin-bedded sandstone of the Fernando, and over all in more or less 
scattered patches the Pleistocene gravel and sand. Oil is derived 
principally from a zone (probably corresponding with the lower oil 
zone of the central field) of interbedded clayey shale, “shell/’ and oil 
sands, the top of which lies from 200 to 400 feet below the bottom of 



Fig. 14.—North-south section on the line W-F, Pis. XVIII, XIX, along Hoover street from First 
to Sixth streets, Los Angeles, showing the structure of the western field. 


the main oil sand of the Los Angeles district. As would be expected, 
the logs of the wells in this area farthest toward the southwest give the 

o o 

most complete records. The Fernando formation consists of sandy 
shale and fine sandstone, beneath which are the clayey shale and in¬ 
terbedded “shell" layers which lie above the thickest sandstone bed. 
This sandstone bed (first oil sand), where reached by wells south of its 
outcrop, usually gives a small yield of heavy oil. Below the sand¬ 
stone the wells penetrate about 400 feet of thin-bedded blue clayey 
shale, thin hard “ shell,” and interbedded oil-bearing sands. Between 
130 and 170 feet above the bottom of this shale is a layer of coarse, 
water-bearing sand, and at its base is a 20 to 50 foot oil sand, the 
greater thickness in wells in the southwestern part of the area, the less 
in the wells which start down north of First street. From this horizon 
down the well logs show considerable discrepancy. Blue clayey shale, 













































































176 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


containing thin to moderately thick beds of oil sand with some water¬ 
bearing strata between appears to lie beneath the lower or second oil 
sand in most of the wells. Water with a temperature of 104° was 
struck in a well at the corner of First street and Vermont avenue at a 
depth of 800 feet. In this well from 800 down to 1,735 feet the strata 
are blue clayey shale and some “shell.” A heavy flow of water was 
encountered at 1,400 feet. The sandy shale from 1,400 to 1,735 feet 
yielded some oil and gas. The record of a well drilled immediately 
southwest of the corner of Fourth and Hoover streets reveals some 
interesting facts. The first oil sand in this well (probably the second 
of the above discussion) was encountered at 250 feet and extended to 
350 feet. This productive sand, as reported, was succeeded below b}^ 
water-bearing sand, with no shale or other parting between. When 
the depth o.f 350 feet was reached the well yielded from 75 to 100 bar¬ 
rels of oil containing no water for a time, but finally water came from 
below and the well was temporarily abandoned. After it had lain idle 
for five or six months operations were again begun, but the moment 
the water in the well was agitated the strong gas pressure threw water 
and oil 30 or 40 feet into the air. Drilling was recommenced after this 
spasmodic “gush,” but water-bearing sands and some shale were the 
only strata penetrated to 1,000 feet, where a 6-foot layer of coarse 
bowlders was encountered. From 1,000 feet down the formation was 
clayey shale, with a 20-foot oil sand between 1,100 and 1,200 feet and 
another 50-foot sand between 1,300 and 1,400 feet. These sands 
were very productive, but owing to the softness of the beds the water 
could not be shut off and was always troublesome. 

In the territory southwest of the corner of Sixth and Hoover streets 
the wells start down in the beds overlying the first oil sand (here 
almost barren), penetrate the sand for about 150 feet, pass through 
300 to 400 feet of clayey and sandy shale and reach the second or 
productive sand, from 60 to (X) feet thick, at a depth of about 525 
feet. North-northeast of this locality, in the region about the corner 
of Hoover and Geneva streets, the second sand (the first encountered 
in these wells) is struck at about 190 feet and is 22 feet thick. About 
50 or 60 feet below this sand is another 60-foot productive zone. The 
same relative conditions as have just been described exist along the 
strike of the beds toward the northwest, the shallow wells, varying 
in depth from 140 to 400 feet, occurring in the northeastern portion 
of the field, while the deeper wells are found along the southwestern 
border. 

The oil in many of the wells in the Baptist College area has been 
succeeded by water, which appears to follow up the oil from below. 
There is also more or less water in all the producing wells, some, it is 
said, yielding 75 barrels of water for each 25 barrels of oil. Gas 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: WESTERN FIELD. 


177 


occurs in most of the wells,- but not in sufficient quantities to be of 
economic importance. The oil is mostly black, but the emulsion of 
oil and water as it is pumped from the wells usually appears bronze 
colored. Some of the wells near the corner of Dome and Hoover 
streets, high up on the rise of the oil sands and not far from the axis 
of the anticline, yield red oil, which, however, becomes black on 
exposure to the air. The gravity of the oil in the Baptist College 
area varies from 12.5° to 14.5° B. The production is from a fraction 
of a barrel to 5 or 6 barrels per day. Some of the wells are said to 
have started with a production of 75 to 100 barrels but fell off to 30 
barrels after ten months, 3 barrels after two years, and 1J barrels 
after three years. The effect of the new wells on the old was imper¬ 
ceptible, the decrease in production being due to a local sapping of 
the sand immediately surrounding the well. 

The three following logs are characteristic for their respective 
localities: 

Log of well immediately southwest of the corner of Hoover and Fourth streets, Los Angeles. 


[Elevation approximately 275 feet above sea level.] 


• 

Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Coarse sand, with clayey and sandy shale and occasional thin “ shell ” layers toward 
the base. 

Feet 

250 

Feet. 

250 

Excellent oil sand, yielding 75 to 100 barrels of oil at start. 

100 

350 

Alternating thin-bedded sandstone and shale containing water. 

650 

1,000 

1,006 

Layer of coarse conglomerate (“bowlders”). 

6 

Alternating thin-bedded sandstone and shale, with water. 

94 

L 100 

Good oil sand; some water. 

20 

1,120 

Clayey shale . 

180 

1,300 
1,350 

Good oil sand; some water. 

50 

Soft clayey shale, too soft to hold casing for shutting off water. 

80 

1,430 



Log of well immediately northeast of the corner of Hoover and Geneva streets, Los Angeles. 

[Elevation approximately 290 feet above sea level.] 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Brown clayey shale . 

Feet. 

60 

Feet. 

60 

Coarse sand and water . 

130 

190 

Oil sand . 

22 

212 

Very hard “shell” .«-. 

3 

215 

Barren oil sand . 

55 

270 

Oil sand . 

58 

328 
















































178 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

Log of well southeast of the corner of Vermont avenue and First street, Los Angeles 


[Elevation 260 feet above sea level.] 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Hard sandstone. 

Feet. 

80 

Feet. 

80 

Blue clayey shale alternating with thin oil sands. 

400 

480 

Oil sand, also containing little water under pressure. 

20 

500 

Blue clayey shale and thin sandstone, some of latter oil bearing; water sands between 
oil sands. 

300 

800 

Sandstone containing hot water, 104° F. 

2 

802 

Oil sand containing light oil. 

28 

830 

Sandstone containing water. 

5 I 

835 

Clayey shale. 

15 

850 

“Marble” (calcareous scale or “ shell”). 

3 ! 

853 

Alternating blue clayey shale and medium- to fine-grained, thin-bedded sandstone_ 

Heavy flow of water in sand. 

Sandstone and light oil strata with gas all the way down... 

547 

1 + 

334 

1.400 

1.401 
1,735 



Fig. 15.—Detail of section along the line C-D, Pis. XVIII, XIX, western oil field. Small letters refer 

to locations of wells on section C-D, PI. XX. 


VICINITY OF WESTERN AVENUE AND TEMPLE ROAD. 

The formations underlying the area east of the corner of Western 
avenue and Temple road are the same as those found toward the 
southeast, in the region of the Baptist College. The surface out¬ 
crops seem to indicate that the dip of the beds is toward the south¬ 
west, but from the evidence offered by a group of wells just south of 
Temple road one-fourth mile east of Western avenue, the dip appears 
to be south-southeastward about 4 feet in 300 feet. This discrep- 































































































LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: WESTERN FIELD. ] 79 

ancy is doubtless due to the proximity of the area to the axis of the 
Los Angeles anticline. 

The wells in the northern part of the area, near Temple road, after 
penetrating gravel and sand for approximately 100 feet pass through 
alternating clayey shale and fine sandstone for about 250 feet. At 
this depth the oil sand, which appears to be barren at the top but 
productive below, is encountered and extends for 35 feet. About 
20 feet below this is a layer of sand which yields flowing water. The 
wells in this part of the area yield an average of 1 to 2 barrels of 
15° B. oil per day, and in addition considerable quantities of gas 
and usually less than 2 per cent of water. 

About one-fourth mile to the southwest down the dip from the ter¬ 
ritory just described the wells reach the oil sand at 310 feet. The 
sand is here 40 feet thick and is somewhat more productive than it 
is higher up, yielding on an average 6 barrels per day per well. The 
same strata were penetrated and the same amount of water is encoun¬ 
tered in these deeper wells as in the wells to the northeast. 

Still farther southwest, about one-half mile southwest of the corner 
of Western avenue and Temple road, the wells strike an oil sand at 
■a depth of about 350 feet which outcrops at the surface in the vicinity 
of the wells just described. This sand furnishes the main yield of 
these wells. About 350 feet below this upper oil sand is encountered a 
second oil zone corresponding to the productive sand of the wells half a 
mile to the northeast. The strata above the first sand are largely clayey 
and sand}" gray shale, possibly Fernando in part, with some harder 
shale and “shell” layers immediately above them. Between the first 
and second oil zones are alternating clayey and sandy shale with a few 
thin layers of hard siliceous shale or “shell;” isolated accumulations 
of oil and gas occur throughout these beds. 

The three following well logs are characteristic of the region near 
Western avenue: 


Lou of well one-fourth mile east of the corner of Temple road and Western avenue, 

Los Angeles. 

[Elevation, 280 feet above sea level.] 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

ft revel end bowlders . 

Feet. 

45 

Feet. 

45 

75 


30 


20 

95 

Small dpLLIgS .. 

20 

115 

Soft, sandstone .- 

12 

127 

TTq rH snndstnrift 

6 

133 


15 

148 

FT o rrl Llnnlr shfllp: .. '. 

17 

165 

“Shell” nr hard white siliceous shale. 

3 

168 


38 

206 

4 ‘ T4 a o r? ’ * nil so.nd 

35 

241 


35 

276 

chain underlain hv stratum of artesian water. 

20 

296 




























180 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Log of well one-fourtli mile east-southeast of the corner of Temple road and Western avenue, 

Los Angeles. 

, | Elevation, 245 feet above sea level.] 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

j Depth. 

Soil.. 

Feet. 

50 

Feet. 

50 

“Adobe” or sandy shale. 

20 

70 

Yellow clay. 

20 

90 

“Adobe”. 

10 

100 

Sand and shale. 

135 

235 

“Adobe”.:.... 

75 

310 

Oil sand. 

40 

350 

Thin-bedded clayey shale and sand; artesian water at 390 feet. 

Thin-bedded clayey shale^nd sand. . 

40 

70 

390 

4G0 

Clayey shale; artesian water in fine white sand at 470 feet. 

10 

470 

Clayey and sandy shale and fine sandstone. 

30 

500 

Same as last, with artesian water in quicksand. 

40 

540 

Conglomerate. 

10 

550 

Sandy shale.. 

5 

555 

Hard white sandstone . 

70 

625 



Log of well one-half mile southwest of the corner of Temple road and Western avenue, 

Los Angeles. 

[Elevation, 238 feet above sea level.] 


Red gravel and sand. 

Water sand. 

Blue clayey shale. 

Gray clayey shale. 

Blue sand. 

Gray clayey shale. 

Hard sandstone. 

Gray clayey shale. 

Hard shale. 

Hard sandstone and clayey shale. 

Hard shale. 

Hard sandstone and clayey shale. 

Black and green clayey shale. 

Hard shale...•.. 

Black shale. 

Hard oil sand... 

Soft oil sand. 

Hard sandstone. 

Soft oil sand. 

Hard sandstone. 

Soft oil sand.. 

Clayey shale. 

Hard sand. 

Alternating clayey shale. 

Black shale.. 

Hard sandstone and shale. 

Black shale. 

Green clayey shale and sandstone. 

Hard sandstone. 

Clayey shale and sandstone.. 

Very hard shale or “shell,” gas underneath 

Clayey shale and sandstone.. 

Clayey shale and hard sandstone.. 

Soft shale and sand; some oil.. 

Stiff clay and hard sandstone.... 

Hard sandstone. 

Hard sandstone and shale. 

Hard sandstone. 

Hard sand, mostly shale. 

Hard siliceous shale or “shell;” “oil cap”.. 

Oil sand and clayey shale. 

Oil sand, good. 

Stiff clayey shale.. 

Oil sand and shade. 

Hard sandstone and shale. 

Oil sand. 

Clayey shale.. 

Hard shale or “shell”.. 

W ater sand. 

Clayey shale. 

Water sand. 

Clayey shale. 

Sand. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Depth. 

40 

40 

8 

48 

4 

52 

22 

74 

23 

97 

9 

106 

1 

107 

27 

134 

1 

135 

14 

149 

2 

151 

30 

181 

79 

260 

1 

261 

38 

299 

41 

340 

61 

401 

2 

403 

6 

409 

2 

411 

2 

413 

3 

416 

4 

420 

14 

434 

60 

494 

5 

499 

21 

520 

70 

590 

1 

591 

20 

611 

1 

612 

6 

618 

21 

639 

19 

658 

31 

689 

1 

690 

10 

700 

9 

709 

21 

730 

3 

733 

7 

740 

15 

755 

. 7 

762 

4 

766 

2 

768 

35 

803 

30 

833 

2 

835 

33 

868 

5 

873 

30 

903 

3 

906 

29 

935 


























































































LOS ANGELES DTSTKICT : WESTEKN FIELD. 181 

AREA ONE-FOURTII MILE NORTHWEST OP TEMPLE ROAD AND WESTERN AVENUE. 


The underground geology 
# in the SE. 1 sec. 14, T. 1 S. 
the corner of Temple road 
and Western avenue, in¬ 
troduces a new structural 
factor in the shape of a 
northeast - southwest line 
of disturbance. In a jour¬ 
ney westward through the 

•7 O 

western field this is the 
first evidence encountered 
of the secondary zone of 
disturbance which to the 
southwest develops into 
the Salt Lake flexure. 
The line of disturbance or 
fault appears to extend in 
a southwesterly direction 
from the northeast corner 
of the SE. 1 sec. 14, 
through a point 80 feet 
west of Loma Vista well 
No. 5, and thence indefi¬ 
nitely toward the Salt 
Lake field. 

East of this line of dis- 
t u r b a n c e the main oil 
zone, which is here from 
80 to 90 feet thick, is en¬ 
countered at a depth of 
between 195 and 210 feet, 
t he overlying beds consist- 
ing of Pleistocene sand 
and gravel near the sur- 
face, with thin - bedded 
shale and fine sandstone 
below. The wells yield as 
high as 20 barrels per day 
when they first come in, 
but this production falls 
off and at the end of two 
years is in few cases over 
2 barrels. The original 
high production is caused 
Bull. 309—07-13 


in the vicinity of the little group of wells 
, R. 14 W., one-fourth mile northwest of 


AB:F 

240' 


AB:d 

239' 


level 



Sea 


300 *- 


Shale 

Sandy shale 

Sand, adobe, clay 
Hard shell 
Dead oil sand and tarstreaks 
Live oil sand 


Fig. 16.—Detail of section along the line A-B, PI. XVIII, 
western oil field. Small letters indicate locations of wells on 
section A-B, PI. XX. 















































































































182 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


by the gas pressure, which is rather strong in this area. West of the 
line of disturbance water is encountered in the wells at a depth of 
400 feet, but no oil was struck, although one of the wells was con¬ 
tinued to 580 feet. 

AREA SOUTH OF COLEGROVE. 

The wells in and near the SE. 1 sec. 15, T. 1 S., R. 14 W., about a 
mile south of Colegrove, penetrate the same strata that underlie the 
Salt Lake field, a mile and a half to the southwest. The wells reach 
the oil zone near the surface, where it is unproductive and almost 
dry, while those of the Salt Lake field encounter it at depths of 1,000 
to 3,000 feet, where it is exceedingly rich in oil and gas. The two 
areas offer an excellent illustration of the differences in saturation 
of a single zone at different points, and also of the fact that within 
reasonable depths oil-bearing strata which outcrop at the surface or 
whose truncated ends are overlain near the surface by comparatively 
thin deposits of porous material are deprived of most of the petro¬ 
liferous contents of their upper portions either by slow distillation 
or by some other process. 

The wells of the Colegrove area penetrate Pleistocene sand, usually 
water bearing at the base for about 50 feet, below which they enter 
thin-bedded clayey shale, sandstone, and “shell.” The northeast- 
ernmost wells strike the oil sand at a depth of a little more than 100 
feet, and from this point down for at least 300 feet pass through 
alternating layers of oil sand, clayey shale, and “shell,” with here 
and there one of conglomerate. From the northeastern edge of the 
Colegrove area the oil sands dip toward the southwest at an angle of 
about 22°, being encountered at greater and greater depths in the 
wells as the Salt Lake held is approached. The wells farthest north¬ 
east start down in beds which underlie what has been called the 
“first" of “150-foot” oil sand, but those situated southwest of the 
middle point of the line dividing the SW. I from the SE. I of sec. 15 
penetrate this sand at depths varying from 100 feet down. A well 
located about one-eighth of a mile west of the middle of the south line 
of sec. 15 strikes this first oil sand at 722 feet and from this depth 
down to 1,532 feet penetrates an almost continuous series of oil-and 
gas-bearing sandstone and sandy shale interbedded with clayey shale 
and thin layers of hard siliceous shale or “shell.” For some reason 
the sands here are not very productive and no important wells have 
been developed over this part of the area. 

Northeast of the Colegrove area the' oil-bearing shale and sand¬ 
stone pass over the Los Angeles anticline and extend in low folds 
toward Prospect Park. Traces of oil and gas have been found in these 
beds in nearly all the wells drilled between the productive belt and 
the Prospect Park region, but no accumulations of consequence have 
been encountered. 


183 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: WESTERN FIELD. 


The three following well logs indicate the character of the strata 
in the Oolegrove area. They are given in order down the dip of the 
strata from the northeast edge of the area toward the Salt Lake field. 

Log of well on northeast edge of the group drilled in the SE. { sec. 15. T. 1 S., R. 14 l V ., 

Los Angeles. 

[Elevation, 239 feet above sea level.] 


Soil.. 

Hardpan.. 

Blue clay. 

G ray clay... 

Fine black sand and clay; water at 47 feet, but soon exhausted 

Fine black sand and shale. 

Oil sand; showing of oil from 60 to 119 feet. 

Sandy shale. 

Alternating brown shale and oil sand. 

Shale.;. 

Tar sand in 3-foot layers. 

Tar sand separated by thin layer of shale. 

Tar sand; dry toward top; tar bed at base... 

Quicksand with water. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

' 6 

6 

8 

14 

21 

35 

15 

50 

22 

72 

40 

112 

7 

119 

6 

125 

29 

154 

6 

160 

36 

196 

84 

280 

37 

317 

5 

322 


Log of well on southwest edge of the group'drilled in the SE. { sec. 15, T. 1 S., R. 14 IF., 

, Los Angeles. 


[Elevation, 245 feet above sea level.] 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Red sand. 

Feet. 

50 

Feet. 

50 

Yellow clay. 

83 

133 

Hard •‘shell”. 

4 

137 

Sandstone and shale. 

10 

147 

Shale; 1-foot “shell” at 186 feet... 

108 

255 

Ta r sand. 

1 

256 

Shale; 1-foot “shell ” at 284 feet; 3-foot “shell” at 302 feet. 

7 

363 

Conglomerate. 

i 

364 

Shaic.. 

7 

371 

Oil sand; 1-foot “shell” at 380 feet; 4-foot “shell” at 448 feet; 1-foot “shell” at 484 
feet... 

156 

527 

Conglomerate. 

10 

537 

Oil sand. 

9 

546 

Conglomerate. 

2 

548 

Oil sand... 

48 

596 

Conglomerate. 

5 

('01 

















































184 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Log of well one-eighth mile wed of middle of .south line of sec. 15, T. 1 S., R. If W 

cm Oil Field, Los Angeles. 


West- 


[Elevation, 240 feet above sea level.] 


Sandy clay. 

Yellow clay.. 

Water sand. 

Hard shale or “shell”. 

Blue clay. 

Hard shale and sandstone. 

Brown sandy shale; very sticky between 204 and 284 feet... 

Clayey shale; 2-foot “shell” at 500 and 570 feet.. 

Alternating clayey shale and fine sandy shale to sandstone. 

Tar oil sand. 

Alternating shale and barren sand. 

Clayey shale, changing to sandy shale; 6 feet of coarse sand at 815 feet. 

Coarse gravel with gas and oil. 

Hard siliceous shale or ‘ ‘ shell ”. 

Sandy shale; considerable gas. 

Clayey shale. 

Oil sand carrying heavy oil. 

Alternating “shell” and sand with considerable gas and oil. 

Very hard “rock”. 

White sand with streaks of tar. 

Tar sand. 

Very hard “rock”. 

Sand rock. 

Tar sand in 3 to 10 foot strata, alternating, with “shell”. 

Tar sand with thin streaks of shale; more gas. 

“Shell”. 

Alternating tar sand and shale, showing of oil and gas between 1,249 and 1,254 feet 

Tar sand with occasional hard “shell” layers. 

Alternating sand and shale, showing of oil and gas. 

Hard coarse sandstone... 

Sand interstratified with brown sandy shale. 

Hard “shell”. 

‘ ‘ Shell ’ ’ and gray sand, carrying tar and gas; sand looks like water sand, but no water 

in it.;. 

AVater sand.. 

Hard “rock”. 

Sand, carrying tar and water. 

Fine sand carrying considerable tar. 

Dry tar sands interbedded with “shell;” “shell” from 1,364 to 1,366 feet. 

White sand, hard at ba^se.. 

Tar bed, with pure tar. 

AVhite quicksand with water. 

Tar sand alternating with thin “shell;” hard “shell” 1,467 to 1,478 feet. 

White sand. 

Hard shell with gas and heavy oil just below it. 

White sand containing tar and gas. 

Sand and brown shale... 

Hard shell. 

White sand. 

Very hard shell with some tar and gas beneath it. 

Hard sand with streaks of shale. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

11 

11 

29 

40 

70 

110 

2 

112 

81 

193 

11 

204 

139 

343 

349 

692 

80 

772 

6 

778 

12 

790 

60 

850 

2 

852 

6 

858 

17 

875 

15 

890 

35 

925 

35 

960 

20 

980 

20 

1,000 

6 

1,006 

5 

1,011 

30 

1,041 

59 

1,100 

1,185 

85 

5 

1,190 

64 

1,254 

36 

1,290 

6 

1,296 

7 

1,303 

1,308 

5 

10 

1,318 

18 

1,336 

12 

1,348 

2 

1,350 

10 

1,360 

4 

1,364 

9 

1,373 

13 

1,386 

7 

1,393 

3 

1,396 

82 

1,478 

15 

1,493 

3 

1,496 

12 

1,508 

7 

1,515 

5 

1,520 

8 

1,528 

4 

1,532 

12 

1,544 


STRUCTURE. 

The structural conditions in the western field are graphically illus¬ 
trated by PL XX, which shows a section along the line C-D from 
1 mile southwest of the corner of Western avenue and Temple road 
to Edgemont (see also fig. 15), and another section along the line 
A-B, showing the underground geology from the Colegrove area to 
the Salt Lake field (see also fig. 16), and by fig. 14, a section along 
Hoover street. The principal structural feature in the field is the 
northwestward continuation of the Los Angeles anticline. The trend 
of this flexure changes from N. 80° W. to N. 65°-70° W., at the east 
end of this field, Avest of Coronado street. The area of the change 
of trend lies northeast and southwest from the corner of Sixth and 

































































LOS ANGET.ES DISTRICT : WESTERN FTELD. 



Iloover streets, and is one of considerable fracturing and distortion, as 
is evidenced by the dips which occur in its vicinity. Northwest of the 
disturbed area the strata along the southwestern limb of the anticline 
are inclined at angles of 20°-25°, S. 20°-25° W. As the beds approach 
the axis they flatten out, passing gently over it into the low local 
folds and flexures which characterize the rolling country to the north, 
not only of the western, but of the central field also. (See fig. 14.) 

The Los Angeles anticline is complicated by faulting in this field, 
as it is in the region to the east. This is well shown by an exposure 
on First street, one block east of Vermont avenue, where the beds are 
much distorted and broken up. From this point the line of disturb¬ 
ance passes near the junction of Rosedale avenue and the old Holly¬ 
wood and Cahuenga Valley Railroad; thence, as shown by well rec¬ 
ords, across Western avenue at a point somewhere less than a quarter 
of a mile north of Temple road, and thence into the group of wells 
which lie about a quarter of a mile northwest of the corner of Western 
avenue and Temple road. A new line of disturbance, probably a 
fault and doubtless related to the Salt Lake flexure (see p. 194), is 
encountered in this last-mentioned group of wells and extends in a 
northeast-southwest direction across the trend of the anticline. The 
geologic conditions are different on the two sides of the fault line, and 
from this it is safe to assume that the structural conditions are also 
different, but just what effect the fault has had on the main anticline 
is problematical. Evidence offered by the logs of the Colegrove 
group of wells and of other wells between this group and the Salt 
Lake field and by the great monocline in the region of Cahuenga Pass, 
in the Santa Monica Mountains to the north, appears to indicate a 
northwestward extension of the anticline past the transverse fault, 
toward the mouth of Laurel Canyon. A glance at the geologic map 
of the western field clearly demonstrates that most of its structural 
features are determinable only by a comparison of the well logs. It 
has therefore been necessary to depend almost entirely on these logs 
in working out the structure of the great southwestern limb of the 
Los Angeles anticline. In the area southwest of the Baptist College, 
where the anticline recovers from the distortion and fracturing 
accompanying its change of strike farther east, this southwestern 
limb (or monocline, as it may be considered in this territory) dips at 
angles of 20°-22°, S. 20°-30° W. The dip near Western avenue and 
Temple road is a little more toward the south, and, being nearer the 
axis, is but about 12°, while half a mile to the southwest the dip is 
approximately 26°. One-lialf mile farther west the slope flattens out 
to 23°, and still farther northwest, in the area southwest of the Cole- 
grove group of wells, it is' only 22°, continuing practically at this 
angle, at least so far as its southwestern element is concerned, to the 
Salt Lake field. Evidence secured in this field indicates that a local 


186 


OTL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


flexure trending northeast and southwest probably changes the gen¬ 
eral dip of the beds from southwest in the region of the Colegrove 
group of wells to west and then to northwest toward the center of the 
Salt Lake held. 

The contour lines on the map (PI. XIX) give an approximation of 
the depth of the top of the upper oil sand or zone below Los Angeles 
city datum (255 feet above sea level). 

SALT LAKE FIELD. 


LOCATION. 

The Salt Lake field—so named from its first important producing 
company—occupies an area approximately a mile square near the 
intersection of Fourth street and La Brea road, 7 miles west of the 
business portion of Los Angeles. The productive territory as now 
developed embraces the northwestern part of the SE. J, the north¬ 
eastern part of the SW. 1, and the southern part of the N. \ sec. 21, 
T. 1 S., R. 14 W. In addition to this there are some important wells 
in the central part of the E. | sec. 20 and some small producers in the 
NW. 1 sec. 28. 

The field occupies a part of the Los Angeles-Santa Monica plain, 
which extends southward with a gradually lessening slope from the 
base of the Santa Monica Mountains toward the hills southwest of 
Los Angeles. (See PI. XXIII.) 

GEOLOGY. 


GENERAL STATEMENT. 

Alluvium and Pleistocene deposits of gravel, sand, and clay cover 
the plain in the region of the Salt Lake field, but surface outcrops of 
other beds are to be found no nearer than about 2 miles from the 
present developed territory. The well logs and a study of the adja¬ 
cent territory indicate, however, that the formations involved in the 
geology of this field include at least a part of those exposed to the 
east in the vicinity of the Los Angeles city field. They are (a) 2,000 + 
feet of Puente sandstone; ( b ) 2,0004= feet of upper Puente shale and 
thin-bedded sandstone; (c) 2,000+ feet of Fernando clayey and 
sandy shale, sandstone, and gravel, and ( d ) an unconformable capping 
of Pleistocene gravel, sand, and clay varying in thickness from 40 to 
190 feet or more, the whole covered by alluvium. A detailed descrip¬ 
tion of these formations is given in the discussion of the general 
geology of the district and will not be repeated here. 

OIL SANDS. 

The most productive sands occur at the top of the Puente forma¬ 
tion although traces and locally more or less important accumulations 
of oil and gas are found in the shale above the principal oil zone. 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



SALT LAKE FIELD, LOS ANGELES. 


































































LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: SALT LAKE FIELD. 187 

The oil is supposed to be derived largely from the diatoms and other 
minute organic remains found in the underlying shale and finds its 
way into the sandy layers mainly through the multitude of joint 
cracks which penetrate both the shale and sandstone. 

BREA DEPOSITS. 

The brea deposits in the Salt Lake field are the most important in 
the Los Angeles district. They cover a considerable territory in sec. 
21. (See PI. XXIV, B.) A number of years ago large quantities of 
this brea were removed and used for paving purposes, the resultant 
depression filling up with water and forming a lagoon. The brea is 
largely the result of the impregnation of porous sand and soil by oil 
oozing up from below. That the process is still going on is evidenced 
by the heavy oil which may be seen oozing from the banks of the 
lagoon and of several other brea pits in the vicinity. Large quanti¬ 
ties of gas are also escaping in the same region, as is shown by the 
intermittent streams of bubbles which rise to the surface of the water 
in the lagoon and other depressions thereabouts. (See PI. XXIV, B.) 
The logs of several wells indicate that brea occurs in the basal Pleisto¬ 
cene beds over a considerable territory contiguous to the lagoon 
where it is invisible on the surface. The formation of brea over an 
area relatively so large implies the escape of vast quantities of oil 
from the underlying Tertiary beds. This escape of the oil and gas is 
probably made possible by the fractured condition of the rocks. On 
the evidence offered by the great brea deposits and the large quanti¬ 
ties of escaping oil and gas in the region of the lagoon the theory is 
advanced that considerable fracturing has accompanied the forma¬ 
tion of the Salt Lake flexure. 

GEOLOGY OF THE WELLS. 

For the convenience of discussion of the underground geology, the 
Salt Lake field will be divided into two jiarts by a hypothetical line 
running in a general northeast-southwest direction through the 
lagoon and coinciding in a general way with the axis of the supposed 
Salt Lake flexure. The area to the northwest of this line contains 
most of the productive wells, and there are no important producing 
wells in the area southeast of the line. 

AREA NORTH AND NORTHWEST OF THE LAGOON. 

In the area north and northwest of the lagoon the wells for the first 
50 to 100 feet penetrate alluvium and Pleistocene clay, coarse sand, 
and gravel—the mantle of the older formations. The Pleistocene 
beds usually carry two water-bearing layers, one at a depth of 20 to 
30 feet, the other (which appears to lie at the base of the formation) 
at 50 to 100 feet from the surface. In some of the wells the lower 


188 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


layer is highly charged with sulphur and other minerals, which are 
probably derived from the underlying shale. These surface waters 
are usually shut off in the sandy or clayey shale at depths of about 
150 feet. Brea and heavy oil are also occasionally encountered at 
the base of the Pleistocene, having accumulated at the top of local 
fracture zones which penetrate the underlying oil-bearing strata. In 
fact in some parts of the field, especially in the vicinity of the sup¬ 
posed flexure, oil appears to impregnate the soil and rocks “from the 
grass roots down.” 

From the base of the Pleistocene to the first important oil sand, 
which is struck at 1,000 to 3,000 feet, the rocks penetrated are essen¬ 
tially clayey and sandy shale (the latter known locally as “adobe”) 
interbedded toward the base with a few 1- to 5-foot layers of hard 
siliceous or calcareous shale (the “shell” of the drillers). The great 
bulk of this shale probably belongs to the Fernando formation. The 
sandy and clayey facies of the shale appear to grade into each other 
both laterally and vertically, so that the personal equation of the 
driller enters largely into their differentiation. Gravel and coarse- 
sand lenses are also encountered in some of the wells, but these are 
usually only local in extent and of little importance. 

Gas and oil, increasing in quantity downward, are found in many of 
the beds of the formation, the most important accumulations occur¬ 
ring as a rule just beneath the hard, impervious “shell” layers. 
Some of these gas accumulations or pockets are confined under great 
pressure and when penetrated by the drill have been known to clean 
out the well with considerable force. The shale beds near the flexure 
or anticline appear to be more petroliferous than the same layers 
farther away, to the northwest of the flexure. This is doubtless due 
to the more or less fractured condition of the rocks in the vicinitv of 
the disturbance, which allows the oil and gas to penetrate many of 
the beds of the shale which otherwise would be impervious. A per¬ 
sistent stratum of salt water occurs beneath a “shell”' layer at about 
950 to 1,000 feet above the top of the first important oil sand in the 
area northwest of the flexure, but does not appear in any of the wells 
southeast of it. (See fig. 17.) Salt water is also encountered in some 
of the wells at horizons 150 to 200 feet and 650 feet above the oil zone. 

The oil zone proper varies in thickness from 150 to 500 feet and 
consists of fine to coarse sand interstratified with clayey shale and 
“shell.’’ The logs of a few wells near the flexure show no well-defined 
oil sand, but rather a series of thin productive sands interbedded with 
clayey and sandy shales. Whether the sand occurs as persistent 
layers or as lenses is problematical, although from the evidence in 
hand it appears highly probable that it is present in both forms 
within the area under discussion. It is known, however, that the 
uppermost important oil sand in the wells over a large part of the 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXIV 



A. CHARACTERISTIC THIN-BEDDED PLIOCENE SANDSTONE LOS ANGELES OIL FIELDS. 



B. LAGOON IN SALT LAKE FIELD, LOS ANGELES. 
Showing floating oil and bubbling water due to escaping gas. 



















LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : SALT LAKE FIELD. 


189 


area 

The 


northwest of the flexure appears to occupy the same horizon, 
sands beneath the uppermost persistent layer vary somewhat in 


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190 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


thickness and composition in the different wells. This is to be 
expected, since individual layers in surface outcrops of similar beds in 
the Los Angeles region undergo important changes of thickness and 
grain within remarkably short distances. The upper oil sand on the 
northwest side of the flexure appears to become less and less impreg¬ 
nated with petroleum as it approaches the apex of the flexure. This 
condition is probably due to structural causes, such as the loss of the 
oil through fractures, although it may possibly be accounted for by a 
slight change in the grain of the sand near the flexure. The same 
beds, however, continue to carry considerable quantities of gas as 
they pass over the line of the disturbance. 

The “main sand/’ which yields the bulk of the oil, is apparently 
fairly constant over a large part of the field. This sand is approxi¬ 
mately 100 to 125 feet thick, rather coarse-grained, and liighty 
impregnated not only with oil but with gas also. The tapping of the 
main sand usually results in the production of a “gusher,” owing to 
the great pressure under which the gas is confined. The retention of 
the oil and gas in this sand is due to the presence of an overlying 
bed of impervious “shell,” capped by 50 feet or more of hard clayey 
shale. The gravity of the oil in the same stratum is said to be differ¬ 
ent at different points down the dip. An illustration of this is found 
in a series of four wells running across the strike of the oil sand in the 
northern part of the field. The well highest up on the dip yields 14° 
oil; the next lower down, about 150 feet from the first, 15°; the third, 
150 feet from the second, 16°; and the fourth, or lowest of the series, 
100 feet from the third, 17°. , 

The two following well sections, one near the flexure, the other 
farther away and down the dip from it, are typical of the Salt Lake 
field: 


Typical well log near the flexure, on its northwestern flank, Salt Lake field. 
[Elevation about 225 feet; dip of strata approximately 40°.] 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Clay. 

Feet. 

36 

Feet. 

36 

60 

Sand and gravel. 

24 

Heaving sand; first water cased off at 110 feet. 

30 

90 

Clayey shale. 

70 

160 

“Adobe” (sandy shale). 

90 

250 

“Adobe,” with salt water at base. 

12 

262 

Clayey shale; 2-foot “shell” at 275 feet. 

13 

275 

Clayey shale; no water. 

85 

360 

Clayey shale; 4-foot “shell” at 398 feet. 

38 

398 

Clayey shale. 

47 

445 

“Adobe” and clayey shale. 

41 

486 

505 

Sticky “adobe”. 

19 

Coarse gravel and “adobe”. 

21 

526 

“Adobe;” 4-foot “shell” at 632 feet. 

106 

632 

“Adobe;” last 10 feet very sticky. 

40 

672 

Clayey shale, 4-foot shell at 701 feet. 

29 

701 

“Adobe;” “shell” at 785 feet. 

94 

795 

Sticky “adobe;” second water shut off temporarilv. 

5 

800 

“Adobe;” considerable water.*.. 

118 

918 































LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: SALT LAKE FIELD. 191 

Typical well log near the Jlexure, on its northwestern flank, Salt Lake field— Continued. 


“Adobe;” layer of soft clayey shale at 960 feet. 

“Adobe”. 

“Adobe’ and small streaks of white sand; some water. 

“Adobe;” some clayey shale and sand; “shell” at 1,040 feet. .. 

Fair showing of oil in “adobe;” small “shell” at 1,075 feet. 

Sandy shale; good showing of oil between 1,070 and 1,080 feet. 

Shale; much gas; oil still coming in.. 

Sand and shale; lots of oil. 

Shale carrying much oil. 

Shale and oil sand mixed; much gas and oil. 

Same formation; gas and oil. 

Broken shale formation; considerable oil.[. 

Shale and oil sand; considerable oil. 

Shale; gas increasing; oil. 

Shale and “adobe;” lots of oil. 

Shale; considerable oil.J” 

Passed through pulverized slate from 1,310 to 1,315 feet, light oil showing under this . . 

Shale; oil still coming in. 

Gray shale; gas strong. 

Shale containing oil; pocket of gas at 1,340 feet. 

Shale. 

“Adobe;” considerable gas. 

“Adobe;” oil coming up on bit; gas flow heavy; well filled for 400 feet with mud,water, 

and oil. 

Big flow of gas; filled pipe 140 feet; good showing of oil. 

Light-colored shale; no mud and no oil. 

Light oil; large amount of gas; well filling rapidly with oil within 100 feet of top;- large 
“shell” at 1,495 feet, under this the heavy flow of gas and oil; another shell at 1,505 

feet. 

Well full of oil, commenced flowing; continues in oil sand. 

Struck shell; bottom of well; gushed to top of derrick; big flow at 1,495 feet. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

42 

900 

22 

982 

40 

1,022 

29 

1,051 

25 

1,076 

24 

1,100 

10 

1,110 

22 

1,132 

40 

1,172 

44 

1,216 

9 

1,225 

5 

1,230 

20 

1,250 

18 

1,268 

28 

1,296 

12 

1,308 

11 

1,319 

19 

1,338 

*4 

1,342 

5 

1,347 

39 

1,386 

19 

1,405 

5 

1,410 

34 

1,444 

54 

1,498 

12 

1,510 

14 

1,524 

17 

1,541 


Oil zone, 490-t- feet (1,051 to 1,541+); thickness of producing sands, 347+ feet. 


Typical well log 1,500 feet northwest of the flexure, Salt Lake field. 

[Elevation about 200 feet.] 


Alluvium, clay, and sand; water at 28 feet, sulphur water at 49 feet 

“ Adobe ” or sandy shale. 

Hard “shell; ” salt water under “shell”. 

Clayey shale; 1 to 6 foot “shell” layers every 25 to 50 feet. 

Hard “shell;” salt water under “shell”.. 

“Adobe”. 

Tar sand. 

“Adobe” with occasional clayey shale layers.. 

Oil sand. 

Clayey shale. 

Oil sand. 

Clayey shale. 

Oil sand. 

Clayey shale. 

Oil sand.. 

Tough brown clay. 

Oil sand. 

Clayey shale... 

Oil sand.. - 

Clayey shale. 

Oil sand (main sand). 

Barren white sand. 

Sand with warm salt water and some 11° oil. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

50 

50 

750 

800 

3 

803 

297 

1,100 

2 

1,102 

163 

1,265 

5 

1,270 

470 

1,740 

20 

1, 760 

30 

1,790 

10 

1,800 

20 

1,820 

20 

1,840 

2 

1,842 

123 

1,965 

10 

1,975 

25 

2,000 

10 

2,010 

10 

2,020 

86 

2,106 

129 

2,235 

150 

2,385 

10+ 

2,395+ 


Oil zone, 495 feet (1,740 to 2,235); thickness of producing sands, 337 feet. 


AREA SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST OF THE LAGOON. 

The underground geology in the area south and southeast of the 
lagoon is similar only in a very general way to that of the area to 
the north. The dip of the strata is probably toward the south or 















































































192 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


southeast, although there are some indications of steep northerly 
dips immediately southeast of the lagoon. The superficial or Pleis¬ 
tocene deposits become thicker and coarser toward the southeast, 
those in the SE. I sec. 28 attaining a thickness of 190 feet and con¬ 
sisting of clay in the upper 20 feet and sand and gravel in the lower 
portion. Deposits of asphaltum appear to be common at the base 
of the Pleistocene, and in at least one of the wells heavy oil was 
encountered not far below the middle of the formation. (See fig. 
17.) Water is usually found in these superficial beds, as in the area 
north of the lagoon. 

From the base of the Pleistocene down to the bottom of the deepest 
wells the rocks appear to be largely clayey shale, interbedded at 
varying intervals with hard “shell” layers. Some sandy beds and 
a few pebbly lenses are also encountered in drilling. Indications 
of oil are abundant throughout certain horizons of the shale, but no 
really important productive sands have yet been found in the area. 
The wells near the lagoon on the south strike moderately productive 
sands between 700 and 1,000 feet, while those somewhat farther 
away get good showings of oil at less depths. In the territory a mile 
or so southeast of the lagoon the shale contains here and there thin 
oil-bearing strata beneath the “shell” beds from 400 feet down, but 
nothing approaching a pay sand has been reached here. Salt water 
is reported as very troublesome below a depth of about 500 feet in 
this last locality. It is also found in most of the other wells of the 
southern area. The wells near the lagoon usually yield flowing 
water. 

The three following logs are characteristic of their respective 
localities. 


Log of well near the middle of the north line of sec. 28, T. 1 S., R. H W. (immediately 

southeast of the lagoon), Salt Lake field. 


[Elevation, 175 feet.] 


Alluvium and clay. ... 

“Dead” oil sand and water. 

Clayey shale; occasional layers of hard “shell” averaging 2 feet in thickness and 

in places confining small quantities of oil and gas beneath them. 

Good oil sand flowing 1 barrel per day. 

Clayey shale similar to that from 80 to 700 feet. 

Clayey shale, but no oil sand or signs of oil in it. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

40 

40 

40 

80 

620 

700 

5 

705 

765 

1,470 

730 

2,200 























LOS ANGELES DISTRICT : 


SALT LAKE FIELD. 


193 


Locj of well in the eastern part of the SE. 1 sec. 28, T. 1 S., R. If W. (1 mile southeast of the 

lagoon), Salt Lake field. 

[Elevation, 180 feet; dip approximately 20°.] 


“ Adobe ”. 

Sand and a little heavy oil (asphaltum). 

Quicksand. 

Blue clayey shale... 

Hard “shell”; blue limestone. 

Blue clayey shale. 

Hard “shell”; blue limestone. 

Blue clayey shale.... 

Hard “shell”; blue limestone. 

Blue clayey shale. 

“River” sand; some oil. 

Clayey shale. 

“ River” sand having excellent quality but small quantity of light oil 

Clayey* shale.. 

Hard shell; blue limestone.. 

Clayey shale.. 


Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

28 

28 

100 

128 

45 

173 

127 

300 

4 

304 

226 

530 

4 

534 

166 

700 

6 

706 

229 

935 

5 

940 

300 

1,240 

5 

1,245 

55 

1,300 

15 

1,315 

81 

1,396 


Log of well in the western part of the N W. J sec. 28, T. 1 S., R. If W. (/ mile south-south¬ 
west of the lagoon), Salt Lake field. 



Thick¬ 

ness. 

Depth. 

Sandy clay. . 

Feet. 

90 

90 

325 

358 

Feet. 

90 

180 

505 

863 

Water sand containing heavy oil (asphaltum). 

Heaving sand (gas); little water; no oil; carries considerable quantities of pebbles.. 
Blue clayey shale interhedded with beds of sand and pebbles 1 foot or so in thickness 
carrying oil; richest horizon at about 700 feet. 



STRUCTURE. 

Owing to the almost complete absence of surface evidence in the 
immediate vicinity, the determination of the local structure in the 
Salt Lake field depends largely on the interpretation of the well logs. 
Unfortunately, not all of these were available at the time of the 
writer’s visit to the field, so that the conclusions reached, although 
probably correct in the main, lack that detail and definiteness which 
is so desirable in an economic report of this sort. 

The strictly local structure of the field under discussion will be 
more fully comprehended if its relation to the general structure of the 
Los Angeles district as a whole is again briefly outlined. Practically 
all the productive oil sands of the different Los Angeles fields lie on the 
southern limb of a flexure, usually a more or less well-defined anti¬ 
cline, whose axis extends in a westerly direction to the region approx¬ 
imately half a mile north of Westlake Park, where it bends about 20° 
to the north and extends to a point about three-fourths of a mile 
southeast of Colegrove and something over a mile northeast of the 
Salt Lake field. Here it appears to bend again to the north, probably 
trending about N. 60° W. In the Los Angeles city fields, that is, 











































194 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


between the Catholic Cemetery and the Westlake Park region, the 
southern limb of the flexure dips normally at angles varying from 30° 
to 80°, while to the west, along that portion having a northwesterly 
trend, the dips flatten to 20° or 25°. The Salt Lake oil field is located 
on the northwestern flank of a minor, but probably somewhat complex 
fold or fault, or both, developed on the comparatively low-dipping 
southwestern limb of the major flexure just described. The dip of 
this flank of the local fold is reflected in a general way by the surface 
slope, which descends gently from the region of the present productive 
field northwestward toward Sherman. This slope probably indicates 
a Pleistocene or post-Pleistocene orogenic movement similar to but 
apparently of much less magnitude than that which produced the 
original flexure. 

o • 

The exact nature of the local flexure is not known, but it is probably 
an anticline, more or less complicated by faults near the apex. Its 
axis extends in a general northeast-southwest direction. The logs 
of certain wells located southeast of the lagoon appear to indicate the 
presence of a minor anticline developed just south of the main flexure 
and separated from it by a fault. Still other evidence suggests a 
local dome-shaped structure, or quaquaversal, having its summit in 
the region of the lagoon. The length of the Salt Lake flexure is 
unknown, although the available data seem to indicate its extension 
at least from a point near the'center of the 'SE. I sec 15, T. 1 S., R. 14 
W ., as far as the lagoon in the SW. \ sec. 21. Whether or not it con¬ 
tinues farther to the southwest is problematical. 

The large accumulations of brea in the immediate vicinity of the 
lagoon and to the north and northwest of it, in addition to the con¬ 
stantly exuding oil and escaping gas over the same area, indicate some 
sort of a profound local disturbance or fracture in the underlying beds. 
If this disturbance has an extensive longitudinal dimension in a 
northwesterlv direction from the lagoon, as some of the evidence sug- 
gests, then it may possibly cut off the Salt Lake flexure from a south¬ 
westerly extension beyond the lagoon. II, however, the structure in 
the vicinity of the lagoon is a local bulge or dome in the underlying 
beds it is quite likely that the Salt Lake flexure may have a consider¬ 
able southwestern prolongation. 

The contour lines on the map of the Los Angeles field (PL XIX) 
and the section shown in PI. XX, A-B, and in fig. 17 illustrate the 
writer’s ideas concerning the local folds. From the map it will be 
seen that the strike of the oil sand probably swings around from a 
nearly east-west line in the region north of the lagoon to a direction 
slightly west of north in the NE. J sec. 21. The dip of the sand in the 
region about the center of sec. 21 does not appear to be much more 
than 10° or 15°, but it increases rapidly in steepness toward the 
southeast up the rise and probably also toward the northwest, or 
down the dip. 


LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: SALT LAKE FIELD. 195 

The region immediately southeast of the Salt Lake flexure, although 
supporting some small producing wells—one of which attains a depth 
of nearly 3,000 feet—does not compare in productiveness with the 
territory to the northwest. This condition may be explained on sev¬ 
eral hypotheses, the two most probable being either (a) that the Salt 
Lake flexure is accompanied by a fault which has dropped the pro¬ 
ductive sands on the southeast down out of reach of the drill, or 
raised them up to such an elevation that they were eroded away in a 
period subsequent to the faulting, or ( b ) that the continuation of the 
productive beds passes over the flexure (in this case an anticline) and 
down on the southeastern flank, but under conditions unsuited to the 
accumulation of oil in large quantities. The second hypothesis is 
represented diagrammatically by fig. 17. 

Faulting may be responsible for the cutting off of the upper oil 
sands immediately to the northwest of the axis of the flexure. If this 
be true it seems likely that the oil sand at the apex, which in fig. 17 
is correlated with the main oil sand of the productive field, should be 
correlated with the uppermost sands northwest of the fold. In this 
case the fault would have a downthrow of about 250 feet on the 
southeast. 

DEVELOPMENT. 

There are at present (February, 1906) between 75 and 80 produc¬ 
tive or drilling wells in the Salt. Lake field, belonging to the following 
companies: Salt Lake Oil Company, about 50 or 55; Arcturus Oil 
Company, 9; Utah Oil Company, 1 (these three companies con¬ 
trolled by the Associated Oil Company); A. F. Gilmore, 4; Pacific 
Light and Power Company, 4; E. P. Clark Oil Company, 7. In addi¬ 
tion to the wells mentioned above, there are several comparatively 
small producers, belonging to the last-named company. These are 
located near the northern half of the line separating secs. 28 and 29, 
and are pumped intermittently. The wells north of the Salt Lake 
flexure vary from 1,200 feet to oA^er 3,100 feet in depth, the deeper 
wells being as a rule the more productive and yielding the lighter oil. 
The individual Avells produce from 20 to o\ r er 1,000 barrels a day, the 
average being about 100 barrels. Owing to the tremendous gas pres¬ 
sure nearly all the wells “gush” when they first come in, and it is said 
that one of the deep wells produced about 18,000 barrels a day for a 
short time after its inception. The gravity of the oil varies from 11° 
to 22°, the heaviest oil coming, it is said, from an isolated sand below 
the main productive zone. The average for the field is between 16° 
and 18°. 

The large quantity of gas which comes from the wells is used mainly 
for the generation of power for operating and deA r elopment, although 
a small amount is used in the field for domestic purposes. 


196 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. 

Anyone at all familiar with the conditions of occurrence of petro¬ 
leum in the California fields knows that any but the most tentative 
predictions as to the location of the oil are extremely hazardous. 
The following conclusions, based on the evidence in hand, although 
lacking definiteness for obvious reasons, may be of some assistance 
to those carrying on development in the Los Angeles fields. 

CITY FIELDS. 

All of the evidence, both geologic and that obtained by exploita¬ 
tion, indicates that the productive territory in the region of the 
eastern, central, and western fields has been largely developed, in 
fact overdeveloped, for'the most part. It is very improbable, therefore, 
that prospecting outside of the already proved productive area, 
either immediately north or south of the oil belt, would result in 
success. 

EAST OF LOS ANGELES RIVER. 

Certain outcropping oil sands in the ravine occupied by the old 
Rapid Transit Railroad track indicate that oil-bearing strata under¬ 
lie the region east of Los Angeles River and south of this ravine. 
A number of wells have been sunk in this territory, however, and 
the greatest recorded production has been that of the Scott & Loftus 
well No. 1, which is said to have yielded 7 barrels of 17° B. oil per 
day. a It is to be borne in mind that the deepest well so far sunk 
in this territory is less than 1,000 feet deep and that deeper wells 
farther down the dip than those already drilled may possibly yield 
better results, providing water does not interfere with their opera¬ 
tion. 

The structure of the Fernando sand and gravel in the area north¬ 
east of Brooklyn Heights appears to be analogous to that in certain 
productive areas in the eastern field, as well as in the Puente Hills 
and Sulphur Mountain (Ventura County) fields. Moreover, the area 
mentioned is in the same formation and lies in the strike directly 
between the eastern field and the Whittier field. It does not seem 
improbable, therefore, that oil-bearing strata underlie the area 
here considered, although no direct evidence, such as seepages and 
brea, are known in the vicinity. 

Were the thick deposits of Pleistocene and late Fernando sedi¬ 
ments that conceal the structure of the older beds in the Raphetto 
Hills removed, these hills might be found to offer a remunerative 
field for exploitation with the drill. 


o Watts, W. L., Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 19, 1900, p. 73. 




LOS ANGELES DISTRICT: FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. 197 

SOUTHWEST AND WEST OF LOS ANGELES. 

It seems probable that the productive zone of the Salt Lake field 
extends northward and possibly a little westward from the territory 
now developed. Just where the northern limit is located is prob¬ 
lematical, but it is quite certain that it is considerably south of the 
base of the Santa Monica Mountains. Within this northern exten¬ 
sion the beds in general dip to the west, and for this reason the most 
productive area will doubtless be found west of La Brea road. East 
of this road the oil sands approach the surface and consequently 
yield smaller quantities and heavier oil than the same beds farther 
down the dip. 

The region southeast of the Salt Lake flexure, as shown by several 
wells, does not appear to offer many inducements for exploitation, 
at least in the immediate vicinity of the Salt Lake field. Farther 
east, however, in the region west and southwest of Westlake Park, 
should deep wells strike a local flexure similar to that in the 
Salt Lake field they would doubtless yield large quantities of oil 
and gas. If the disturbance or fracture already mentioned as occur¬ 
ring in the vicinity of the lagoon does not have a northwestern exten¬ 
sion, terminating the Salt Lake flexure and the productive zone on 
its northwestern flank, then it appears highly probable that deep wells 
will strike productive sand in the southern part of section 20 and 
the northern part of sections 29 and 30, T. 1 S., R. 14 W. 

Outside of the territory mentioned in the preceding paragraphs 
there is little or no evidence of remunerative oil deposits in the 
immediate vicinity of Los Angeles. Were it not for the great thick¬ 
ness of Pleistocene sand and gravel, which cover the great Los Angeles 
Plain'from the Santa Monica Mountains and Raplietto Hills to the 
ocean, it would be more than likely that productive territory could be 
developed over this plain. At least it is almost certain that the oil¬ 
bearing strata underlie it, but whether or not the structural con¬ 
ditions are at any place conducive to the accumulation of gas or 
oil in paying quantities can be determined only by costly exploita¬ 
tion with the drill. 


Bull. 309—07-14 



198 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


PRODUCTION. 

Owing to the large number of independent companies operating 
in the Los Angeles district, it has been impossible to obtain even 
approximately complete data concerning the annual production. 
However, the following figures derived from various sources are prob¬ 
ably as nearly correct as any that are available: 


Approximate production of petroleum in Los Angeles district, 1895 to 1905, inclusive. 


Date. 

Field. 

Produc¬ 

tion. 

1895 a . 

Central. 

Barrels. 
729,695 
900,000 
1,072,000 
1,168,000 
1,032,036 
1,500,000 
2,500,000 

1896 b . 

.do. 

1897 c. 

Largely from central. 

1898c. 

About 50 per cent central, 50 per cent eastern. 

1899c. 

43 per cent central. 30 per cent eastern, 27 per cent western. 

1900 b . 

Central, eastern, and western. 

1901 b . 

.do. 

1902 d .. 

Central, eastern, western, and Salt Lake. 

3,074,000 
2, 468,000 
1,199,850 
2, 672, 349 

18,315,930 

1903 d. 

.do. 

1904 e. 

... do. 

1905 c. 

.do. 




a Watts, W. L., Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 19, 1897, p. 21. 

b Estimated by the writer. 

c Watts,~W. L., Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 19, 1900, p. 53. 

d Estimate of central, eastern, and western fields by Charles A. Blackmar, city oil inspector; Salt 
Lake field estimated by the writer. 

* Statistics compiled by division of mining and mineral resources, U. S. Geological Survey. 

STORAGE. 

The storage facilities of the eastern, central, and western fields are 
largely confined to wooden tanks in the producing territory. Many 
of these are small, so that as a rule the operators are unable to hold 
their product for any considerable length of time. The storage capac¬ 
ity of the refineries in the city is also small, few of the individual 
refineries having a capacity of over 25,000 barrels. 

The storage capacity of the Salt Lake field, on the contrary, is 
about 390,000 barrels. Steel tanks, holding 20,000 to 55,000 barrels, 
are largely used in this field, although smaller wooden tanks are 
employed in a few instances. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

The oil from the city fields is in large part used locally, being deliv¬ 
ered in tank wagons. No pipe lines of any great length exist in the 
city. The largest is the Union Oil Company’s line, from First street 
and Lake Shore avenue, in the central field, to the Southern Pacific 
Railroad at Palmetto and San Mateo streets, a distance of about 4 
miles.® An 8-inch pipe line connects the Salt Lake field directly with 
Los Angeles, and smaller lines run from some of the properties to 
tanks and racks on the line of the Los Angeles Pacific Electric Rail¬ 
road immediately south of the fields. 


o Watts, W. L., Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 11,1900, p. 109. 


































BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OILS. 


The following is a bibliography of the principal articles referring to 
the oil industry of California and the geology of the southern Cali¬ 
fornia oil districts: 

Anderson, F. M, Oil-yielding formations of Humboldt County; Bull. California 
State Mining Bureau No. 19, Sacramento, 1900, pp. 161-166. 

Anonymous. Description of the recently discovered petroleum region in California. 
Tract. New York, 1865. 

Anonymous. Gas making with crude oil in California: Jour. Gas Light, April 28, 1903. 

Antisell, Thomas. Geology of the Sierra Susanna and Monica: Pacific R. R. Rept., 
vol. 7, pt. 2, Washington, 1857, pp. 75-78. Plains of San Fernando, Los 
Angeles, and San Bernardino: Idem, pp. 79-86. Bituminous effusions: 
Idem., pp. 107-114, PI. Y, figs. 2, 3. 

Arnold, Delos and Ralph. The marine Pliocene and Pleistocene stratigraphy of 
the coast of southern California: Jour. Geol., vol. 10, Chicago, 1902, pp. 
117-138, PL IV, figs. 1-7. 

Arnold, Ralph. The paleontology and stratigraphy of the marine Pliocene and 
Pleistocene of San Pedro, Cal.: Mem. California Acad. Sci., vol. 3, San 
Francisco, June 27, 1903, 420 pp., 37 pis. 

--. The Salt Lake oil field near Los Angeles, Cal. In Contributions to Economic 

Geology for 1905: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 285, Washington, 1906. pp. 
357-361, fig. 12. 

Arnold, Ralph, and Strong, A. M. Some crystalline rocks of the San Gabriel Moun¬ 
tains, California: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 16, Rochester, N. Y., April, 
1905, pp. 183-204, 2 maps. 

Blackmar, Charles A. Register of oil wells, with map, Los Angeles city. Register 
California State Mining Bureau, Sacramento, 1904. 

Blake, William P. Geology and natural resources of the region from Mojave River, 
by Williamsons Pass, to San Fernando and Los Angeles; Los Angeles to San 
Bernardino and Cajon Pass: Pacific R. R. Rept., vol. 5, pt. 2, Washington, 
1856, pp. 65-88, 6 figs., PL VI. 

Bowers, Stephen. Geology of Ventura County: Eighth Ann. Rept. California State 
Mining Bureau, for 1888, Sacramento, 1889, pp. 679-690. 

Cooper, A. S. The genesis of petroleum and asphalt in California: Sci. Am. Suppl., 
Sept. 2, Dec. 30, 1893; California Mines and Minerals, San Francisco, 1899, 
pp. 114-174, 18 figs.; Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 16, Sacra¬ 
mento, 1899, 89 pp., 29 figs. 

Cooper, II. N. Chemical analyses of California petroleum: Bull. California State 
Mining Bureau, No. 31, Sacramento, 1904, sheet. 

Cooper, J. G. Lists of fossils from the oil-bearing formations of California. In Watts, 
W. L., The gas and petroleum-yielding formations of the central valley of 
California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau, Sacramento, 1894, pp. 7, 
10, 25, 38-40, 43, 49, 53-59, 62-65. 

-. Lists of fossils from the oil-bearing formations of California. In Watts, W. L., 

Oil and gas-yielding formations of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara 
counties: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 11, Sacramento, 1897, 
pp. 79 -87. 


199 




200 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


Crawford, William H., and Hough, Edward S. See Hough, Edward S. 

Cronise, Titus F. The natural wealth of California. San Francisco, 1868, chap. 6. 

Deane, C. T. The oil industry of California from a commercial standpoint: Am. Gas 
Light Jour., August 31, 1903. 

Eldridge, George H. The asphalt and bituminous-rock deposits of the United 
States: Twenty-second Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, Washington, 
1901, pp. 209-452, Pis. XXV-LVIII, 52 text figs. 

—. Petroleum fields of California. In Contributions to Economic Geology for 
1902: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 213, Washington, 1903, pp. 306-321. 

—. Geology of California oil fields. In The production of petroleum: Mineral 
Resources U. S. for 1902, U. S. Geol. Survey, Washington, 1903, pp. 202- 
207. 

Fairbanks, H. W. Geology of San Diego County, also portions of Orange and San 
Bernardino counties: Eleventh Ann. Rept. California State Mining Bureau, 
Sacramento, 1893, pp. 76-120. 

Notes on a breathing gas well: Science, new ser., vol. 3, New York, 1896, pp. 
693-694. 

—. Some notes on the petroleum deposits of California: Min. and Sci. Press, vol. 
78, San Francisco, 1899, p. 533. 

-. The oil-yielding formations of Monterey, San Luis Obispo and San Benito 

counties: Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 19, Sacramento, 1900, 
pp. 143-150. 

Goodyear, W. A. Petroleum, asphaltum, and natural gas of California, in the coun¬ 
ties south of the Bay of San Francisco: Seventh Ann. Rept. California State 
Mining Bureau, Sacramento, 1888, pp. 63-114. 

Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William. Oil fields of the Texas-Louisiana gulf coastal 
plain: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 212, Washington, 1903, 174 pp., Pis. I- 
XI, figs. 1-12. 

Hough, Edward S., and Crawford, William H. Report of recent oil-burning instal¬ 
lations on the Pacific coast: Marine Engineering, September, 1902. 

Howard, John L. Fuel conditions in California: Am. Gas Light Jour., August 25, 
1902; Jour. Electricity, November, 1902. 

Hudson, Ed. J., and Mabery, Charles F. See Mabery, Chas. F., 1900-1901. 

H unt, A. M. California petroleum and its use as fuel: Jour. Electricity, May, 1903. 

Jackson, C. T. The oil interest of southern California: San Francisco Bulletin, July, 
1865. 

Kennedy, William, and Hayes, C. W. See Hayes, C. W., 1903. 

Lakes, A. California asphaltum: Mines and Minerals, vol. 20, Scranton, Pa., 1899, 
pp. 108-109. 

Oil fields of California: Mines and Minerals, vol. 21, Scranton, Pa., 1901, pp. 
467-470. 

Lengfeld, Felix, and O’Neill, Edmond. A study of California petroleum; prelimi¬ 
nary notice: Am. Chem. Jour., vol. 15, Baltimore, 1893, pp. 19-21. 

Loew, Oscar. Report on the geological and mineralogical character of southeastern 
California and adjacent regions: Ann. Rept. U. S. Geog. Surv. W. 100th 
Mer. for 1875-6, Washington, 1876, Appendix H 2, pp. 173-178. 

Lyman, B. S. Bibliography of petroleum: LI. S. Census Report, 1880, vol. 10, pp. 281 
etseq.; Ann. Rept. Geol. Survey Pennsylvania, 1886, p. 2. 

Mabery, Charles F. Preliminary paper on the composition of California petroleum: 
Am. Chem. Jour., vol. 19, Baltimore, 1897, pp. 796-804. 

Mabery, Charles A., and Hudson, Ed. J. On the composition of California petro¬ 
leum: Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind., vol. 19, London, pp. 502-503; Am. Chem. 
Jour., vol. 25, Baltimore, 1901, pp. 253-297. 








BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


201 


Marcoit, Jules. Report on the geology of a portion of southern California: Ann. Rept 
U. S. Geog. Surv. W. 100th Mer. for 1875-6, Washington, 1876, Appendix 
H 1, pp. 158-172. 

Means, John H. Map of the Oil City oil fields, Fresno County: Bull. California State 
Mining Bureau No. 15, Sacramento, 1899, sheet. 

Merriam, J. C. Lists of fossils from the oil-bearing formations of California. In Watts 
W. L., Oil- and gas-yielding formations of California: Bull. California State 
Mining Bureau No. 19, Sacramento, 1900, pp. 218-224. 

Recent discoveries of Quaternary mammals in Southern California: 
Science, N. S., vol. 24, no. 608, pp. 248-250, August 24, 1906. 

Oliphant, F. H. The production of petroleum in the United States: Mineral Re¬ 
sources U. S. for 1900, U. S. Geol. Survey, Washington, 1901, pp. 129-134; 
idem for 1901, p. 58; idem for 1902, pp. 188-207; idem for 1903, pp. 166-178; 
idem for 1904, pp. 189-194. 

O’Neill, Edmond. Petroleum in California: Am. Gas Light Jour., September 7, 1903. 

O'Neill, Edmond, and Lengfeld, Felix. See Lengfeld, Felix. 

Peckham, S. F. Examination of the bituminous substances occurring in southern 
California. Geol. Survey, California, vol. 2, 1882, appendix, p. 49-90. 

Petroleum in southern California: Science, vol. 23, New York, 1894, pp. 
74-78. 

Petroleum in its relations to asphaltic pavements: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 47, 
New Haven, Conn., 1894, pp 28-34. , 

On the nitrogen content of California petroleum: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 48, 
New Haven, Conn., 1894, pp. 250-255. 

- The asphalt question: Jour. Am. Chem. Soc., vol. 17, No. 1, Baltimore, Jan. 

19, 1895, pp. 1-9. 

- On the use of acetone in the technical analysis of asphaltum: Jour. Franklin 

Inst., vol. 141, Philadelphia, March, 1896, pp. 219-223. 

-On the nature and origin of petroleum: Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., vol. 36, Phila¬ 
delphia, No. 154, 1897, pp. 1-10. 

On the sulphur content of bitumens: Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind., vol. 16, No. 12, 
London, 1897, pp. 1-7. 

The technology of California bitumens: Jour. Franklin Inst., vol. 146, July, 
1898, pp. 45-54. 

The genesis of bitumens as related to chemical geology: Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., 
vol. 37, No. 157, Philadelphia, 1898, pp. 108-139. 

On the classification of crude petroleum: Jour. Franklin Inst., vol. 151, 
Feb., 1901, pp. 114-124. 

Peckham, S. F. and II. E. The determination of sulphur in bitumens: Jour. Am. 
Chem. Soc., vol. 21, No. 9, Sept., 1899, pp. 772-776. 

Prutzman, Paul W. Production and use of petroleum in California: Bull. California 
State Mining Bureau No. 32, Sacramento, 1904, 230 pp., 54 text figs, and 
maps, 25 tables, 64 half-tones. 

Oil wells in Kern County. In Register of mines and minerals, Kern County: 
Register California State Mining Bureau, Sacramento, 1904, pp. 20-22, 4 
maps. 

Richardson, Clifford. Petroleum from the Olinda field: Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind., vol. 
19, London, 1900, pp. 123-124. 

-The petroleums of North America. A comparison of the character of those of 

the older and newer fields: Jour. Franklin Inst., vol. 16, 1906, pp. 57-70, 
81-128. California fields, pp. 91-106. 

Ropp, Alfred von der. The use of crude oil in smelting: Min. and Sci. Press, Novem¬ 
ber 29, 1902; Eng. and Min. Jour., January 10, 1903 (abstract). 














202 OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

Salathe, Frederick. Resume of original researches, analyses, and refining methods 
of petroleum, mainly from the southern counties of California: Thirteenth 
Ann. Rept. California State Mining Bureau, Sacramento, 1896, pp. 656-661; 
Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 11, Sacramento, 1897, pp. 73-78. 

Sheedy, P. The use of oil fuel on the Southern Pacific: Am. Engr. and R. R. Jour., 
July, 1902. 

Silliman, Benjamin. A description of the recently discovered petroleum region in 
California, with a report on the same. New York, 1865, 24 pp., 1 pi. 

- Report upon the oil property of the Philadelphia and California Petroleum 

Company. Philadelphia, 1865, 36 pp. 

- On petroleum in California: National Intelligencer, February 7, 1866. 

- On naphtha and illuminating oil from heavy California tar (maltha): Am. 

Jour. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 43, New Haven, Conn., 1867, pp. 242-246. 

State Mineralogist. Petroleum and allied products: Second Ann. Rept. California 
State Mining Bureau, Sacramento, 1882, p. 26: Fourth Ann. Rept., 1884, 
pp. 278-308; Fifth Ann. Rept., 1885, pp. 102-103; Seventh Ann. Rept., 
1888, pp. 10-56; Eighth Ann. Rept., 1889, pp. 25, 26, 159, 216, 339-341, 
349, 404, 483, 530, 534, 538, 547, 550, 554, 678, 686; Ninth Ann. Rept., 1890, 
pp. 55-56, 332; Tenth Ann. Rept., 1890, pp. 140, 163-164, 189, 207, 314, 
586-588, 606, 622; Eleventh Ann. Rept., 1893, pp. 31, 227, 237, 259, 371-372; 
Twelfth Ann. Rept., 1894, pp. 26-33, 348-358; Thirteenth Ann. Rept,., 1896, 
pp. 35-45, 567-593. 

Strong, A. M., and Arnold, Ralph. Nee Arnold, Ralph, 1905. 

Vogdes, Anthony W. A bibliography relating to the geology, paleontology, and min¬ 
eral resources of California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 10, 
Sacramento, 1896, 121 pp.; Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 30, 
Sacramento, 1904, 290 pp. 

Watts, W. L. The gas- and petroleum-yielding formations of the central valley of 
California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 3, Sacramento, 1894, 
100 pp., maps, text figs., and half-tones. 

- Petroleum in California: Thirteenth Ann. Rept. California State Mining Bu¬ 
reau, Sacramento, 1896, pp. 570-593. 

- Oil as fuel in Los Angeles: Thirteenth Ann. Rept. California State Mining Bu¬ 
reau, Sacramento, 1896, pp. 662-664. 

- Oil- and gas-yielding formations of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara 

counties: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 11, Sacramento, 1897, 
+94 pp., 35 figs. 

- Petroleum in California: California Mines and Minerals, San Francisco, 1899, 

pp. 188-205,18 figs. 

- Notes on the oil-yielding formations of California: Min. and Sci. Press, vol. 

74, San Francisco, 1899, pp. 144-146, 172-173. 

- Oil- and gas-yielding formations of California: Bull. California State Mining 

Bureau No. 19, Sacramento, 1900, 236 pp., 26 text figs., 35 half-tones, 13 
maps. 

Weber, A. H. Natural gas in California: Seventh Ann. Rept. California State Mining 
Bureau, Sacramento, 1888, pp. 179-191. 

- Petroleum and asphaltum in portions of northern California: Seventh Ann. 

Rept. California State Mining Bureau, Sacramento, 1888, pp. 193-202. 

Whitney, J. D. Geology of the Coast Ranges south of the Bay of Monterey and from 
the vicinity of Los Angeles, south: Geol. Survey California, Geol., vol. 1, 
Philadelphia, 1865, pp. 114-186. 

Young, W. G. The present condition of the oil industry of California: Eng. and Min. 
Jour., October 25, 1902. 












PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOUTH¬ 
ERN CALIFORNIA OILS. 


Compiled by Ralph Arnold. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The United States Geological Survey has done very little in deter¬ 
mining the properties and composition of the California oils, and the 
information here given is compiled from published reports or the 
work of private individuals. By far the greater part of the analyses 
were made by members of the scientific staff of the California State 
Mining Bureau and are published in bulletins Nos. 3, 11, 19, 31, and 
32 of that bureau. The writer is largely indebted for data to Messrs. 
W. L. Watts, Frederick Salat he, H. N. Cooper, and Paul W. Prutz- 
man. (See bibliography for list of papers, etc.) 

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 

OILS. 

GRAVITY. 

The gravity of the oil from the wells in the Santa Clara Valley, Los 
Angeles, and Puente Hills districts varies from 10° to over 50° B. 
The heaviest oils are found in the Los Angeles field; the lightest oil 
is that from the unique wells in the gneiss of Placenta Canyon, east 
of Newhall. Certain wells in the Miocene shale of the Puente and 
Olinda fields (Puente Hills district) and the fields south of Sulphur 
and San Cayetano mountains (Santa Clara Valley district) yield oil 
of 30° to 35° gravity, while that in some of the wells in the Pico field 
(Santa Clara Valley district) is said to go as high as 40°. The greater 
part of the production from southern California, however, is oil vary¬ 
ing from 18° to 24°. 

COLOR. 

The crude oils from these districts are mostly black or brownish in 
color. The exceptions are the white oil of the Placenta Canyon wells, 
Santa Clara Valley district, and the greenish, light-gravity oils of the 
Sulphur Mountain and Pico Canyon fields, Santa Clara Valley dis¬ 
trict, and the Puente and Olinda fields, Puente Hills district. Green¬ 
ish oil is also reported in one or two other instances. 


203 




204 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


COMPOSITION. 

The following table gives the ultimate chemical composition of 
two California oils and, for comparison, of oils from Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, West Virginia, and Texas: 

Ultimate composition of various crude oils. 


Locality. 

Specific 

gravity. 

Nearest 

degree, 

Baume. 

Oil Creek, Pa.°. 

0.730 

02 

Ohio b . 

West Virginia 0 . 

.840 

36 

Beaumont, Tex .b . 

California °. 



California ° c... 

.912 

23.5 



• 

C. 

H. 

O. 

N. 

S. 

By whom 
analyzed. 

82.0 

14.8 

3.2 



Deville. 

85.0 

13.8 

0 

60 

0." 60 


84.3 

14.1 

1.6 



Do. 

85. 03 

12. 30 

0! 92 

1.75 


86. 934 

11.817 


1. 1095 


Peckham. 

84.0 

12.7 

1.2 

1.7 

0.4 

Salathe. 


a Watts, W. L., Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 19, 1900, p. 207. 
b Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind., vol. 20, pp. 161 et seq. 
c Mixture of Ventura County oils. 


FUEL AND GAS MAKING. 


Oil is now largely used as a fuel in California in many places where 
coal was formerly employed, and is, in a measure, supplanting that 
commodity. The railroads and those electric lines not using power 
developed by water use oil almost entirely for fuel purposes. T he 
gas companies also use it for the manufacture of gas, smelters for the 
smelting of ores, foundries for the heating and melting of’metals, and 
other manufactories for nearly every purpose requiring the generation 
of heat. 

Following is an analysis of a typical gas-producing oil from the 
Murphy Oil Company’s wells, Whittier district, and an analysis of 
the gas derived from it: ° 

Results of crude oil test, Murphy Oil Company. 


Gravity at 60° F.°B.. 20. 5 

Moisture and nonpetroleum substances &.None. 

Flash points 

Sulphur.per cent.. 0. 05 

Residue (dry lampblack).do.01 


Analysis of the gas produced from Murphy Oil Company's crude oil. 


[Based on the Lowe process—18-candlepower gas; 1,800 B. T. U.] 


Carbonic acid (C0 2 ). None. 

Illuminants. 11.2 

Oxygen (O). .4 

Carbonic oxide (CO). 3.4 

Hydrogen (H). 40 


Marsh gas (CH 4 ) 
Nitrogen (N).... 


41. 8 

2 . 8 


99. G 


This gas gave over 600 British thermal units per cubic foot. It 
took 7.75 gallons of crude oil to produce 1,000 cubic feet of gas. 

a Furnished by Mr. E. A. Bacon, of the Murphy Oil Company, Whittier. 

b Oil stored in tank eight months. Flash point in oil coming directly from well, in five tests, 130° 
88°, 90°, 92°, 94°. 














































GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE OTLS. 


205 


PRODUCTS OF REFINERIES. 

Sixteen refineries use the oil from the three districts under discus¬ 
sion, and as the natural product varies in gravity from 10° to 35° or 
40°, the resultant distillates are varied. The higher-grade oil pro¬ 
duces gasoline, benzine, kerosene (“water white”), No. 1 and No. 2 
distillates, stove distillate, and a residuum of fuel and road oil. 
The heavier oils, those under 21° or 22°, yield No. 1 and No. 2 distil¬ 
lates, stove distillate, lubricating, fuel, and road oils, with a residuum 
of asphalt. 

The No. 1 and No. 2 distillates are used mostly in gas engines in 
many places for irrigation plants. No. 1 is suitable for engines under 
15 horsepower; No. 2 is best suited to the larger engines. The stove 
distillate is used in hotels, bakeries, and similar places where the fluid 
is consumed without steam pressure, while the regular fuel oils are 
usually forced into the fire boxes by means of special pressure burners.® 

The following is a list of the principal refinery products, together 
with the range in gravity of each: 


Refined products of California petroleum, b 

Gasoline. 

Benzine. 

Engine distillate 

Kerosene. 

Stove oil. 

Gas oil. 

ANALYSES. 


° B. 
68 
62 
56-40 
44-40 
35-32 
30-28 


° B. 

Fuel distillate. 28-24 

Neutral oils. 24-22 

Light lubricants. 24-20 

Engine oils. 20-18 

Cylinder oils. 18-15 

Crude lubricants, car oil, etc. 17-15 


The following tables give, in a condensed form, the results of a large 
number of analyses and tests of oils from all the principal fields in the 
Santa Clara Valley, Los Angeles, and Puente Hills districts. The 
compiler wishes to reiterate the acknowledgment of his indebtedness 
to the California State Mining Bureau for the very free use he has 
made of its publications. The text of Bulletin No. 31 c of that bureau, 
is here copied in its entirety to explain Table 1 which is a part of that 
bulletin. 

If a sample of ore containing gold and silver is sent to an assayer lie will doubtless 
report practically the same results as would another assayer who had used an entirely 
different method of assaying. The same is true of two chemists determining the quan¬ 
tity of sulphur in pyrites, etc. But in organic analysis two different methods may 
vary as much as 10 per cent, from which it is obvious that data on oil given without 
the methods by which or the apparatus in which they have been obtained are almost 
useless and can not be duplicated or proved correct by another chemist. For this 

a See Prutzman, Paul W., Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 32, 1904, pp. 58 et seq. 
b Prutzman, Paul W., Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 32, 1904, p. 187. 
cBy II. N. Cooper, 1904. 

















206 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


reason it is considered proper to give the following description of the methods by which 
the data in the above table were determined. * 

Specific gravity .—Two pycnometers were used, one holding 25 c. c. and the other 1^ 
c. c., the larger one for the light oils and the smaller for the heavy oils. Both were 
calibrated with pure distilled water and the water content calculated to 4°. A heavy 
oil may be introduced into either pycnometer by first filling a small beaker and allow¬ 
ing a very small drop to fall into the pycnometer. This drop will carry with it a thread 
of oil, which may be increased to a stream, and thus the pycnometer can be filled with¬ 
out getting any air bubbles mixed with the oil. If the oil once touches the side of the 
neck it is an interminable job to fill the instrument. It would be better to clean out 
with gasoline and start over again. If the oil is too thick to pour, as above, then use 
the little pycnometer, which is nothing more than a little bottle with a wide neck and 
a glass stopper carefully ground in. The little bottle is put next to the lip of the beaker 
containing the sample and the oil allowed to drain in. If the draining takes place 
slowly no air will get mixed with the oil. Then the stopper is slowly squeezed in, 
until by turning it, it grates on the ground glass of the bottle. The excess oil is wiped 
off with a rag, without undue handling of the bottle with the fingers. After weighing, 
the temperature is taken with an accurate thermometer and a correction of 0.0006 in 
specific gravity made for heavy oils and 0.0007 for light oils for each degree centigrade 
variation from 15°—15° being taken as normal. 

Example: The little pycnometer full of sample No. 31 weighs 6.6195 at 18.5°. 

6.6195 wt. of pycnometer and oil. 

4.8413 wt. of pycnometer. 


1.7782 wt. of oil in pycnometer. 

1.7782 (wt. of oil) 1.8431 (wt. of water) = .9648. 

.9648 + (3| X .0006) = .9669 sp. g. of No. 31 at 15°. 

This seems a long process, but it is quickly carried out. I made 16 specific-gravity 
determinations in four hours, or an average of 1 in fifteen minutes. An error in the 
specific gravity causes a corresponding error in the distillation and also in the calorific 
value per c. c., and too much care can not be taken in its determination. To take 
the gravity of heavy oils by the hydrometer is as long as this, and, moreover, very inac¬ 
curate. On first consideration it might seem that the specific gravity taken in a little 
bottle as small as 1.5 c. c. would be inaccurate, but I compared this with the 25 c. c. 
pycnometer and obtained results agreeing to 0.0001 in specific gravity, or practically 
identical. 

Viscosity .—There are many viscometers, but none of them are ideal. Nevertheless, 
I could not invent one that would answer all requirements and expect the public to 
use it. It takes time to introduce a new idea or instrument. The Redwood viscom¬ 
eter seems to me to be the best now on the market, for the following reasons: It is the 
English standard; the tip is made of agate, and so will not wear out; the tip is sur¬ 
rounded by heavy brass, thus keeping the oil in the tip at approximately the same 
temperature as the oil in the cup. 

In the above data the viscosity has been taken at two temperatures—at 15° C. (about 
60° F.) and at 85° C. (185° F.). It was taken at 15° C. because this is generally taken 
as “ordinary temperature,” and at 85° C. because it is impossible to heat the contents 
of the Redwood viscometer up to 100° C. (212° F.) with boiling water, so some lower 
temperature must be chosen. It is easy to heat the instrument up to 85° C. (185° F.), 
and, moreover, a pipe line may be heated to 85° C., but with great difficulty higher 
than this. Since our main object in finding the viscosity is to ascertain whether the 
oil can be piped without too great cost for pumping, the last consideration is important. 
To see whether it is practical to pass the oil through pipes 85° C. has been chosen. 

It is customary to give the results in the number of seconds that it takes 50 c. c. to run 
through the instrument. To compare this with water (which runs through in 25 sec- 



ANALYSES OF THE OILS. 


207 


onds) the results must be divided by 25. Through the instrument which I used water 
ran in 21b seconds. Therefore I give two sets of results; one set consists of the number 
of seconds it took the oil to run through the instrument which I used; the other set, 
the same number of seconds divided by 21b. The data of the last set approximately 
tell how many more times viscous the oil is than water at 15° C. (about 60° F.). Just 
before the test is made the level of the oil is made even with the tip. 

Flash point .—Nothing can be more inaccurate than the open tester, since it may be 
manipulated at will to give results varying by 10°. The most accurate of the open 
testers is liable to great variations in its results from drafts of air. The Abel closed 
tester gives results which may be duplicated within 1° or 2°. It is the English stand¬ 
ard, and with the Pensky attachment it is the German standard. It seems to be per¬ 
fect in every respect for its purpose, i. e., for determining the flash from 60° F. to 
160° F. (Why not adopt it as the standard for California?) If the instructions for open¬ 
ing the slide are carefully followed, the Pensky clockwork for opening the slide is not 
necessary; it was invented to do away entirely with any tampering with results. In 
making the above determinations of flash point the directions given in Redwood’s 
Manual were followed exactly. Since the flash was taken with reference to safety in 
transportation, the test was not made on those samples flashing below 15° C. (60° F.) 
and above 70° C. (168° F.). 

Calorific value .—All the determinations were made with thte Atwater bomb. The 
thermometer used was a Beckman, graduated in one one-hundredfhs, whose accuracy 
I tested. The basis was the average between Berthelot’s calorific values for cane 
sugar and naphthalene. I carefully determined the value of these two substances. 
The naphthalene used was made by De Haen, Germany; its boiling point was between 
79° and 80°, and it was melted before using. The sugar was three times crystallized 
cane sugar, whose composition by organic combustion agreed with the theoretical by 
0.03 on the II and 0.05 on the C; in other words, perfectly pure sugar. Before using, 
it was dried at 50° in the oven. My average of several results on sugar and naphtha¬ 
lene had to be increased by 1.08 per cent to make it the same as Berthelot’s average for 
sugar and naphthalene, and all my results on petroleum are increased by the factor 
1.0108, which is evidently the correction factor of the bomb calorimeter plus my per¬ 
sonal equation. My results are certainly within 0.5 per cent of the absolute, and on 
repetition the duplicates agree within 0.3 per cent. 

Samples Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9,10, 14,17,19, 25, 29, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, and 48 were 
taken from the top of the cans after the oil had stood for three or four months, and the 
calorific value found without preliminary treatment. Since Nos. 3, 4, 17, 29, and 40 
had water present, the calorific value obtained for these was increased by the same 
number of per cent as the oil held water; in other words, the calorific value was cal¬ 
culated on the dry sample. All other calorific values that were made of samples con¬ 
taining water first had the water removed by distillation. The calorific value of an 
oil containing water is useless for most purposes unless the percentage of water is given 
also; for how can anyone get concordant results on a sample half water? (See sample 
No. 30.) Oil is bought by the gallon and not by the pound, and the column headed 
“Calorific value per c. c.” gives the comparative value of the oils by volume. 

Sulphur .—The sulphur was determined from the sulphuric acid left over from the 
combustion in the platinum cup. The cup or lining as well as the lid of the bomb was 
carefully washed into a beaker, the liquid filtered to about 100 c. c., BaCl 2 added, and 
the precipitated BaS0 4 weighed and the sulphur calculated. The gases of combustion 
I found to contain no sulphuric acid. (And of course no S0 2 , since HN0 3 was present.) 
I passed the gases slowly through glass wool soaked in t n q KOH, and found almost no 
consumption of the alkalinity of the KOH, showing that all the H 2 S0 4 and HN0 3 
stuck to the lining. 

Distillation .—An ordinary ^-liter glass distilling flask was used. The exit tube is 
bent upward for 2 finches just after leaving the neck of the flask; this is to facilitate 


208 


OTL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


filling and to intercept any liquid spurted out during the distillation. I do not give 
the measurements of the flask, because in California we have to take what we can get 
in the line of glassware. But if the flask holds 300 to 325 c. c. up to the bottom of the 
neck, the diameter of the neck is about one-fifth the diameter of the bulb, the exit tube 
joined to the neck halfway between the top of the bulb and the top of the neck, and the 
neck about one and one-half times as long as the diameter of the bulb, the flask will 
fulfill the requirements. To prevent condensation in the upward bend it is sur- - 
rounded by fluffed asbestos fiber about half an inch thick. The exit tube should be 
30 inches long from the top of the bend to the tip of the tube. The thermometer is 
placed so that the top of the bulb is level with the bottom of the exit tube. During 
the distillation up to the 250°-300° fraction the exit tube passes through a water con¬ 
denser. After this fraction passes over the condenser is removed and the exit tube 
used as an air condenser. 

The specific gravity of the sample is first determined; then the flask is placed on one 
pan and counterbalanced with shot. The balance must be accurate to 50 mg. with a 
300-gram load. Enough oil is poured in to make a volume of 200 c. c. (calculated from 
the specific gravity) at the temperature of the room in which the distillation is to take 
place. The condenser is attached, the 50-c. c. graduated cylinder put under the tip of 
the exit tube, and the oil is cautiously heated until all the water is driven over. In 
making the fractional distillation I do not recommend putting in any measured amount 
of gasoline or other light-boiling liquid to drive off the water. I have never seen a 
sample that could not be fractionated in its original condition, if care and patience are 
used. The oil is then fractionated between the following temperatures: Up to 100°, 
100°-150°, 150°-200°, 200°-250°, 250°-300°, 300°-asphalt, asphalt. The flame is so 
regulated as to cause the oil to distill over no faster than two drops per second. Just 
before the thermometer reaches the point where the distillation is to be stopped the 
flame is moderated to allow the thermometer to rise gradually to the stopping point. 
The flame is now removed to allow the temperature to fall, 20° for the 100° fraction, 
100° for the 300° fraction, and a proportionate fall for the fractions in between, and 
then heated up again. This is repeated until no more than three drops can be squeezed 
over. The receiver is then changed and the next higher distillate run over. An 
exception must be made with the 250°-300° fraction, if much cracking takes place. 
With some oils very varying results may be obtained for the 250°-300° fraction, because 
every time the temperature goes up to 300° cracking takes place and more distillate 
passes over. In such cases I have arbitrarily stopped at 50 c. c. and made a note to that 
effect in the tables (the fraction is marked [&]), or else I have kept the temperature at 
290° until the cracking had almost stopped. This last procedure is too long to be 
practical, and I recommend the former. The asphalt was run down to grade D. It 
was tested by running a looped wire down the neck of the distilling flask, drawing out 
a drop and testing it by chewing or by the finger nail. Of course, with such small 
quantities it does not make much difference in the results whether the asphalt is run 
down to grade C, D, or E. The asphalt is measured in this way: Fill the flask with 
water to a mark on the neck; pour out the water and save for future use. Dissolve the 
asphalt in waste lubricating oil (heat the flask over the flame) and remove the traces 
with gasoline and then with hot sulphuric acid and potassium bichromate. Dry, and 
pour back the water. Now run in water from a burette to the mark. The number of 
cubic centimeters run in represents the asphalt. 


Table 1.— Chemical analyses of southern California petroleum A 
[By H. N. Cooper, chemist. All samples taken direct from pump by Marion Aubury, field assistant, California State Mining Bureau.] 


ANALYSES OF THE OILS. 


209 


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a Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 31, 1904. 























































































































































Table 1 .—Chemical analyses of southern California petroleum —Continued. 


210 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


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ANALYSES OF THE OILS. 


21 


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I I I I + 11+ +1+1 + + + + 


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CO rH rH 1^. X 
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X X X X X 
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Table 1 .—Chemical analyses of southern California petroleum —Continued. 


212 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 


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a Much cracking on reheating; percentage taken arbitrarily. 


















































































































































ANALYSES OF THE OILS 


213 


(N^XNXOX05XN05Tf 
NrrXXQNHMiOtOXC5 
COC005QON05 05 005^0 
XXX0505XXX05X0505 

.9175 

.9049 

.9160 

.9177 

.8905 

.9119 

NCOCONHTf M 
X CO 05 Q X CO 
00 H N c C O', o 
X 05 X X 05 X 05 

OCCXCNOHNHN00O5 

^c005^XN05t0WXN05 

oo§SoSc?§qcS§oS 

io«ooNHQoo(NooiONinio 

®OOOMCOIO^*CC>-i c© i 05 >—11010*0 

HCNoooNHaooNCiOoofflo 

OlOCiOiOOiOOlOOOOOiOOOiOOOOOO 


'r?U'-X05(McOOC^05X<NiO 
iOMNOO<pON?O^OTHtO 
»Q X os 05 O C 01 CO X 05 05 X 

xxxxxxxxxxxx 


COHCHCCOIOOIOOOHOOCOOMN 
^ CO CO N 1C O GC O rH Tji o ^ 10 H CO 

8 0 O CO o o oc O O O O 00 00 X N o 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 


CWHOOHO^OJiOH 

< 05 t-H ,-H CO lO t—I © OJ ^ 


x 


hOhh CO lO o C'M 

X^cOcQtOXlO^©*- 

xxxxxxxxxa 


^COW^QTjiTfTjir-lNlOWlOOO 
cOcOcOcOXcOtOcO' , fcOiOcOiO’ ,; T , i 
XXXXXXXXXXXC 


X X ( 


) X c 




01 

t-H 

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05 CO 

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t-h h C4 WHOKNHH 


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cd X Tji 


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05 X to 05 T-H X X to X 

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to 


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05 X to CO X 


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oddiodNcdoind^fNcodTHci 


hn XX 

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^ cO ^ ^ 

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05 ^(N05C^ X 05 

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£ ££££ ZJz; 


^iOcONX050H(NXTfitOcONX050HNX^tOcON00 050HCa 
^HHHHhSwScS|<N(NW(NnSxXXXXXXXXX^^^ 


Bull. 309—07-15 


« 



















































































214 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 


Table. 2. —Proximate analyses of Southern California crude oils.a 

[By Paul W. Prutzman.] 


No. of sample. 

Field. 

» 

County. 

Section. 

Township. 

Range. 


SANTA CLARA 






VALLEY 






DISTRICT. 





1 

Elsmere. 

Los Angeles.. 

13 

3 N. 

16 W. 

2 

Placerita. 

.do. 

4 

3 N. 

15 W. 

3 

Ojai . 

Ventura. 

11 

4 N. 

22 W. 

4 

Torrey. 

. .do. 




5 

. .do. 

. .do. 




6 

Santa Paula... 





7 


.do. 




8 

Santa Paula... 

.. .do. 




9 

Modelo. 

.do. 

8 

4 N. 

18 W. 

10 

Santa Paula... 





11 

Silver Thread.. 

.do. 

17 

4 N. 

21 W. 

12 

Bardsdale. 

.do. 

12 

3 N. 

20 W. 

13 

Torrey. 

...do. 




LOS ANGELES 






DISTRICT. 





14 

Los Angeles ... 

Los Angeles.. 




15 

.do. 

.do. 





PUENTE HILLS 






DISTRICT. 





16 

Olinda. 

Orange. 

8 

3 S. 

9 W. 

17 

.do. 

.do. 

8 

3 S. 

9 W. 

18 

.do. 

.do. 

8 

3 S. 

9 W. 

19 

Brea Canyon.. 

.do. 

1 

3 S. 

10W. 

20 

.do. 

.do. 

9 

3 S. 

9 W. 

21 

Olinda. 

.do. 

9 

3 S. 

9 W. 

22 

.do. 

.do. 

9 

3 S. 

9 W. 

23 

.•»•«d 0 «. «•••••• 

.do. 

9 

3 S. 

9 W. 

24 

.do. 

.do. 

9 

3 S. 

9 W. 

25 

Puente. 

Los Angeles.. 

35 

2 S. 

10 W. 

26 

.do. 

.do. 

35 

2 S. 

10 W. 

27 

.do. 

.do. 

35 

2 S. 

10 W. 

28 

Whittier. 

.do. 

26 

2 S. 

11 W. 

29 

.do. 

.do. 

26 

2 S. 

11 W. 

30 

.do. 

.do. 

26 

2 S. 

11 W. 

31 

.do.... 

.do.... 

26 

2 S. 

11 w. 








Taken 
from— 


Tank... 
Well.... 
Tank... 

_do... 

Well.... 

_do... 

Pipe line 
Well.... 
Tank... 
Well.... 
Tank... 
Well.... 
_do 


Well.. 
_do. 


Well.. 
Tank. 
Well.. 
...do. 
...do. 
...do. 
...do. 
...do. 
...do. 
...do. 
...do. 

...do. 
...do. 
...do. 
...do. 
.. .do. 


PQ 

O 

>> 

V 

o3 

Sh 

o 


17.2 

42.7 

11.8 
22.6 
23.9 

25.2 

25.6 
26. 

26.6 
26.8 
27.4 
28. 
28.1 


15.1 

15.7 


15.9 

20.3 
20.5 

23.3 

32.4 

32.8 
33. 

33.4 

34.5 

26.8 
26.8 

29.1 
20.4 
21 . 

23.1 

23.2 


Distillation. 


Below 
150° C. 


rt 

a> 

o 

l-l 

Pi 


0 

51 

0 

0 

7.2 

12.5 
10 
10 

13.8 

13 

19.4 

13 

16.6 


0 

0 


1 

Tr. 

3.4 

10.5 

21.7 

23.8 

24.8 
22.1 

22.9 

10.5 

12.5 


21 

0 

2.1 

5.2 

4.7 


PP 


(>> 

V 

c3 

(-< 

o 


48.8 


54 

53.7 

58.5 
56 
59.4 
54 

59.2 

61.6 
53.7 


55.8 
57 

59.1 
59.6 

60.9 
60.9 

62.1 

59.2 
58.8 

58.2 


55 
55 
57.3 


150° C. to 
270° C. 


£ 

o 

<Z> 

Pi 


21.9 

43 

0 

30 

26.7 

25.5 

24 

27 

32.4 

26.5 
26.1 

20.5 

23.6 


20 

17.2 


14 

23 
18.8 

25.5 
25.8 

27.7 

27.6 

30.8 

27.9 
28 
29 

24 
23.4 

23.9 
27.3 
24 


PP 


4-2 

V 

cd 

u 

O 


36.9 
38 


38.8 

38 
37.6 
41.5 

38.8 

40.8 

39 
40.1 
43.4 

39.8 


30.2 

30.2 


36.8 

41.2 

39.3 

39.9 

41.5 

40.7 

42.8 

41.3 
43 

43.6 

42.4 

41.4 

38.1 

38.2 

38.4 

39.3 


Above 
270° C. 


rt 

o 

0> 

Pi 


50.2 
4 

56.6 

53.2 
38.9 

50.2 
38 
44 

38.9 

45.9 

35.2 
40 

35.7 


63.7 

54.1 


41 

42.9 

47.6 
31.4 
41 8 

31.2 

31.4 

37.6 

33.4 
33 
33 

30.9 

45.3 

48.4 

44.7 

46.9 


PP 

o 


> 

o3 

U 

o 


25.5 


24.7 


23 
29.8 


23 


25.5 


24.7 


26.5 
27’3 


22.6 


24.5 


a Bull. California State Mining Bureau, No. 32, 1904, Table 25, opp. p. 198. 


< 










































































































ANALYSES OF THE OILS 


215 


Table 2. —Proximate analyses of Southern California crude oils. 


[By Paul W. Prutzman.] 


Distillation. 


Asphalt. 


Calculated analysis. 


Total. 

gasoline. 


Per cent. 

Grade. 

Loss (per cent). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B.). 

25.9 

D 

2 

0.5 


12.1 

40 

0 


2 

52.3 

49 

25.8 

40 

41.7 

D 

1.7 

0 


0 

.... 

15.4 

D 

1.4 

1.5 

54 

19.5 

41 

25.5 

D 

1.7 

8 

54 

16 

41 

11.8 

D 

0 

13.3 

53 

15.3 

41 

25.3 

D 

2.7 

12.4 

57 

19.2 

42 

16 

D 

3 

11.4 

55 

17.5 

41 

12.9 

C 

2 

16.4 

59 

24.3 

42 

11.1 

D 

3.5 

14.3 

53 

17.2 

41 

18.8 

D 

.5 

21.2 

58 

18.3 

42 

25.6 

D 

.9 

15 

60 

18.5 

42 

21.1 

D 

3 

18.3 

54 

16.5 

42 

13.3 

B 

3 

0 


4 

40 

25.7 

D 

3 

0 

.... 

3 

40 

42 

D 

2 

1.2 


7.7 

40 

32.1 

D 

2 

1.8 

55 

17.9 

42 

25.9 

E 

4.3 

4.4 

54 

12.3 

41 

31.6 

D 

1 

12.3 

56 

17.8 

42 

9 

D 

1.7 

24.3 

58 

20.6 

42 

16.7 

D 

.6 

26 

59 

20.8 

42 

15.6 

D 

.6 

27.6 

60 

24.8 

42 

8 

D 

1.5 

24.6 

60 

23.1 

42 

12.9 

D 

2.9 

25.7 

61 

25.1 

42 

26 

D 

2.5 

13.3 

58 

25.2 

42 

24 

F 

1.5 

15.4 

58 

24.7 

42 

22.1 

D 

2 

22.9 

58 

17 

42 

27.3 

D 

4 

.7 


14 

41 

21.4 

D 

4.2 

2.8 

54 

14.4 

41 

20.2 

D 

2.6 

6 

55 

16.4 

41 

19.7 

E 

4.7 

5.9 

56 

15.6 

41 


Kero¬ 

sene. 


Mid¬ 

dlings. 

Lubri¬ 

cants. 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B.). 

23.8 

19.9 
24.3 


35.7 

0 

32.3 




34.1 

17.5 





24.5 

21.4 


35.1 

19 


























37.2 

31.8 

42.5 

18.7 









18.4 

34 

34.7 

20.9 

15.4 

33.7 

29 

21 









12.1 

32.7 

21.3 

23 

16.4 

32.5 

18 

22.3 





23.1 

31.8 

34.1 

18.6 

20.6 

33.2 

33.5 

19.5 


Middlings and tubri- 

cants (per cent). 

Asphalt. 

Loss (per cent). 

Per cent vol¬ 

ume. 

Percent weight. 

Pounds per bar¬ 

rel. 


25.9 

28.6 

94.9 

2 


0 



2 


41.7 

44.4 

153.1 

1.7 

62.2 

15.4 

18.1 

56.4 

1.4 

48.8 

25.5 

29.5 

93.6 

1.7 


11.8 

13.7 

43.2 

0 


25.3 

29.5 

92.9 

2.7 

52.1 

16 

18.8 

59 

3 

44.4 

12.9 

15.2 

47.4 

2 

53.9 

11.1 

13.1 

40.8 

3.5 

41.2 

18.8 

22.1 

69 

.5 

40 

25.6 

29.1 

92.1 

.9 

41.1 

21.1 

25.1 

77.7 

3 


13.3 

13.8 

46.7 

3 

68.3 

25.7 

28.1 

93.9 

3 

47.1 

42 

45.9 

154.3 

2 

46.2 

32.1 

36.1 

117.9 

2 


25.9 

29.2 

95.1 

4.3 

37.3 

31.6 

36.3 

116.2 

1 


9 

10.7 

32.3 

1.7 

35.9 

16.7 

20.5 

61.7 

.6 

31.4 

15.6 

18.1 

57.3 

.6 

42.8 

8 

9.6 

29 

1.5 


12.9 

16 

49 

2.9 

33 

26 

30.7 

95.7 

2.5 


24 

28.5 

88.2 

1.5 

36 

22.1 

26.3 

81.4 

2 

54 

27.3 

30.8 

100.2 

4 


21.4 

24.2 

78.4 

4.2 

54.8 

20.2 

23.2 

74.3 

2.6 


19.7 

22.6 

72.3 

4.7 


Remarks. 


White oil. 


Green oil. 


Greenish oil. 


Greenish oil. 


Mixture from 
four wells. 


© 

Ph 

a 

tn 


o 

£ 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 
9 

10 

11 

12 

13 


14 

15 


16 

17 

19 

18 

20 
21 
22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 


























































































































216 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 


Table 3. —Distillation tests of southern California crude oils.a 


[By W. L. Watts.] 


No. of sample. 

Well. 

Gravity of crude oil 
' (° B.). 

Naphtha. 

Illuminating oil. 

Lubricating oil. 

100° C. 

125° 

c. • 

150° 

C. 

200° C. 

250° C. 

300° C. 

350 c 

C. 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B.). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B.). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (°B.). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B.). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B.). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (°B.). 

Per cent. 

Gravity (° B.). 


SANTA CLARA VAL- 

















LEY DISTRICT. 





. 











1 

Tar Creek. 

23 





7.6 

60 

11 

55 

10. 4 

41 

12. 4 

34 

6 

29 

2 

.do. 

23 





8. 4 

63 

8 

58 

10. 4 

45 

14. 2 

33 

4 


3 

Fourfork. 

22 





Tr. 


6.9 

52 

16.8 

45 

9.7 

38 

6.6 

33 

4 

Kentuck. 

25 





6 

64 

8. 6 

54 

10 

44 

12 2 

36 

2.5 

32 

5 

Pico Canyon No. 4 

40 

9.1 

69 

10.4 

59 

9.3 

54 

13.4 

48 

13.9 

41 

8.3 

35 


LOS ANGELES DIS- 

















TRICT. 
















6 

Central field. 

17 





Tr. 


Tr. 


8 

38 

13.6 

32 

3 


7 

.do. 

17 

...... 



.... 

Tr. 


Tr. 


7 

38 

15.3 

29 

7.1 

27 

8 

.do. 

17 

...... 



.... 

Tr. 


Tr. 


6 

39 

16.8 

31 

8 

27 

9 

.do. 

17 

...... 



.... 

Tr. 


Tr. 


9.6 

40 

17.6 

36 

5 

27 

10 

.do. 

17 

...... 




Tr. 


Tr. 


8 

42 

12 

32 

4 


11 

.do. 

16 





Tr. 


Tr. 


1 6 


11 4 

32 

3 4 


12 

.do. 

16 





Tr. 


Tr. 


2.2 


11.2 

30 

7 

29 

13 

Macintosh. 

13 

... 




Tr. 


Tr. 


Tr. 


1.6 


4.4 


14 

Maltman. 

14 

. 

.... 


.... 

. 


. 


1 

--- - 

8 

31 

9.6 

• * • - 


PUENTE HILLS DIS- 

















TRICT. 
















15 

Puente. 

23 





Tr. 


15 9 

52 

10 8 

45 

9 3 

35 

2 Q 


16 

.do. 

28 





10.2 

IT 

13.5 

55 

12.2 

43 

10.2 

36 

8.3 

34 


a Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 19, 1900, pp. 203-205. 





































































































Table 4. —Distillation tests of southern Califomia crude oils. 


DISTILLATION TESTS OF THE OILS. 


■ T -go 
22 £3 u oo 
03 bJO 0) O 
3 -i-h -p> —i 
-3 © — 

ft£ 

=o O 3 3 
<J' H R S 


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cn 

■p> 

Pi 


*0 


oj 

•C o' rn 

o ■<!<” 

p-i <—a 
3 w 
pi 


■(•a o) Atabjo 


II90 I 0 J 


to 

05 


10 04 *0 


O4r^O4O4COC000t^*OC0 
04 HC^HHH 04 *—1 


05 10 10 00 
co 04 co 04 


• rf< CO rH 


• • 


• 1 

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• 04 

• 

< 

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1 • 


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CO 


CO CO CO 04 ^ 04 1-H 


9 


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05 

04 


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•(•So) Ata'bio 


* 3.1100 J 0 J 


00 00 00 00 00 00 

04 04 04 04 04 04 


00 




CO 1 


•^05iOi0050^NcO 
04*0*0 04 04 04 04’—i 1 —' 


00 

04 


*0 


05 

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m w 


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00 

1 -H 

04 


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CO 


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co *0 
co co 


00 • 00 


05 *0 


»OOOrH 

04 


<X> 

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© •«* 


w 


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• • • *0 

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05 NhcD7 00 CO 
h 04 04 04 04 r-t 




• • 1 It 

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1 *0 *0 • • • 

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• fall 

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III • I 

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• • *o *0 • 


CO 00 


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* 3.1100 10 J 


*0 


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Cj 

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CO 04 t-H 04 
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a> • 

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CQ O 

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•(•a o) Aiabio 


•juaa iaa 


•a o 09 va no 

apnea jo Ajiabi 3 appadg 


CO 

co 


00 


NOMOO 
04 05 i—t O 05 
O O 05 00 o 
05 05 GO 00 05 


00 

o 

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05 


■(•g 0 ) n° Qpnjo jOiCaiA^JO 


04 04 00 04 


04 


COCOO5*O^t s -O5Tt^t0*O 
04 04’—<04040404040404 


CO 04 


7<^05H 
r—< H r-H 04 


H H 04 
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a> 

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121 

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r-H04C0^*0cOt^00C5O 


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217 


a Greenish oil. 

1, 2. Furnished by Mr. Herbert Mills, secretary Happy Thought Oil Company, 123 California street, San Francisco. 

3, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17. Furnished by Mr. James Jordan, Union Consolidated Refining Company, Los Angeles. 

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12. Salathe, Frederick, Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 11, 1897, p. 76. 

9, 10. Prutzman, Paul W., Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 32, 1904, p. 193. 






















































































































































Table 5. —California oil refineries using southern California crude oil.a 


218 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


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FOSSILS OF THE OIL-BEARING FORMATIONS OF 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


By Ralph Arnold. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Many of the oil-bearing rocks of southern California contain the 
fossil remains of living organisms such as plants, foraminifera, sea 
urchins or echinoderms, marine and fresh-water mollusks, crabs, fish, 
and some of the higher vertebrates. The marine mollusks, owing to 
their peculiar composition and habitat, are relatively much more lia¬ 
ble to be preserved in the rocks than the individuals of most of the 
other groups, and, as a consequence, they are the most abundant of 
the organic remains, and therefore the most useful for purposes of 
correlation, not only in this region, but in all regions abounding in 
marine sediments. 

A fossil may be the more or less altered remains of the plant or ani¬ 
mal; it may be the empty mold from which all of the original material 
of the organism has been removed; or it may be the cast of the original 
form in hardened silt, sand, or some crystallized mineral which has 
replaced the organism. 

It is well known that associations of species (fauna or flora) are 
governed by two important factors—one of time and the other of 
environment. The fossil fauna of any formation, unless it be an unusu¬ 
ally thick one requiring a very long time for its deposition, is generally 
fairly constant throughout for rocks of similar lithologic character, 
owing to the fact that faunas living at approximately the same time, 
under similar conditions, and in the same general region or biologic 
province are closely related or nearly identical. Conversely the 
faunas of the different kinds of rocks in the same formation and even 
of the same kind of rock in two different formations are always more or 
less distinct. As the different marine sediments reflect the varying 
conditions of their deposition, so the faunas reflect their environ¬ 
ment; fossils are usually found in a matrix whose deposition was gov¬ 
erned by the conditions forming the environment of the fossils. Thus 
a deep-water fauna is usually found in shale or limestone, a shallow- 
water or littoral fauna in sandstone or gravel, and so on. Coarse 
conglomerates, owing to the disturbed conditions surrounding their 
deposition, rarely contain recognizable fossils. 


219 




220 


OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 


It follows, then, that similar faunas from two or more different 
outcrops indicate in a general way the contemporaneity and simi¬ 
larity of conditions of deposition of the beds; that is, they indicate 
the same horizon or formation. The converse of this statement, 
however, is not always true, for it often happens, for example, that 
the shale fauna of one formation bears a stronger affinity to the shale 
fauna of a second formation either above or below it than to the fauna 
of contemporaneous sandstone or conglomerate within its owp for¬ 
mation. 

Some faunas are characterized by the predominance of one or 
more families or broader groups; some only by the occurrence or 
abundance of certain species. Analogous to the formations which 
contain them, certain faunas are distinctly isolated from others of 
the same region. A formation having an isolated, unique, or so- 
called characteristic fauna is the most easily identified and corre¬ 
lated, as the determination of only a few of its species often suffices 
to locate it definitely. The correlation of those rocks whose fauna 
is not so distinctly separated from the fauna of stratigraphic ally 
adjacent formations is much more difficult and generally requires 
some special training along paleontologic lines. Fortunately most 
of the formations in southern California contain fairly characteristic 
faunas, so that with a sufficient amount of identifiable material from 
any given stratum its correlation, or the determination of its relative 
position in the stratigraphic column, may be readily approximated. 

It is a well-known fact that the only way to determine the relative 
position or age of any bed in a series where the rocks of the different 
formations are so much alike and the structure so complex as in the 
southern California oil districts is by a determination of itsr fossil 
contents. Ordinarily lists of fossils are absolutely meaningless except 
to the few who have devoted at least a little time to the study of 
paleontology. But when these lists are supplemented by the figures 
of the species named it is an easy matter for anyone to find out for 
what each name really stands. The following plates are given to 
add meaning to the lists of fossils included in the text. The species 
figured do not represent all of those found in the oil-bearing forma¬ 
tions of southern California, but rather those which are commonly 
found in or are characteristic of the principal formations there devel¬ 
oped. It is thought that by means of these figures anyone will be 
able to locate approximately any bed in the geologic column if he 
can obtain from it a few recognizable fossils. 

The fossils are arranged on the plates in the order of the occurrence 
of the rocks containing them, beginning with the oldest, the Eocene. 


P L A T E S. 







PLATE XXV. 

Eocene Pelecypoda. 

(All figures natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Venericardia planicosta Lamarck. U.S.N.M. 1G4973. Left valve; longitude 
84 mm. Eocene, Little Falls, Wash. This is the most widespread and 
characteristic Eocene species in the world. Found in the Sespe and 
Silver Thread districts, Ventura County. 

Fig. la. Same specimen as fig. 1. View of anterior end of both valves. 

Fig. 16. Same specimen as fig. 1. View of both valves from above. 

Fig. 2. Cardium cooperii Gabb. LLS.N.M. 164998. A decorticated right valve; longi¬ 
tude 35 mm. Eocene, Rose Canyon, San Diego County. A common 
species in the Eocene of the west coast. 

Fig. 2a. Same specimen as fig. 2. View of both valves from above. 

Fig. 3. Mcretrix hornii Gabb. Left valve; longitude 36 mm. Pal. Cal., vol. 2, pi. 30, 

fig. 78. A common species in the Eocene of the west coast. 

Fig. 4. Modiolus ornatus Gabb. Right valve; longitude 38 mm. Pal. Cal., vol. 1, 
pi. 24, fig. 166. Another species found in most Eocene faunas of the 
west coast. 


222 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXV 


EOCENE PELECYPODA. 





PLATE XXVI. 

Eocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

(All figures natural size unless otherwise noted.) 

Fig. 1. Pecten (Chlamys) calhinsi Arnold. Univ. California. An imperfect left valve; 
altitude 45 mm. Eocene, Sisar Creek, Ventura County. 

Fig. 2. Same species as fig. 1. Univ. California. Imperfect right valve; altitude 
29 mm. Same locality as fig. 1. 

Fig. 3. Pecten ( Propeamusium) interradiatus Gabb. Left valve; altitude 25 mm. 

Pal. Cal., vol. 2, pi. 33, fig. 98. Eocene shales at New Idria, San Benito 
County, and in Silver Thread district, Ventura County. 

Fig. 3a. Same specimen as fig. 3. Interior of left valve. Pal. Cab, vol. 2, pi. 33, 
fig. 98. 

Fig. 36. Same species as fig. 3. Outline of ears of right valve. Pal. Cab, vol. 2, 
pi. 33, fig. 98a. 

Fig. 4. Glycymeris veatchii Gabb var. major Stanton. U.S.N.M. 165003. Imperfect 
left valve; longitude 30 mm. Eocene, Rock Creek, Los Angeles County. 
Found in the lower Eocene (Martinez formation) in California. 

Fig. 5. Cardium breiverii Gabb. Right valve; longitude 51 mm. Pal. Cab, vol. 2, 
pb 24, fig. 155. Common in the Eocene (Tejon formation and equivalents). 

Fig. 6. Teredo sp. U.S.N.M. 164972. Type. Imperfect section of tube, lateral 
view; diameter 11 mm. Eocene, Sisar Creek, Ventura County. 

Fig. 6 a. Same species as fig. 6. U.S.N.M. 164972. Cotype. Cross section of a 
crushed specimen; maximum diameter 15 mm. Same locality as fig. 6. 

Fig. 7. Fusus remondii Gabb. Front view; altitude 41 mm. Pal. Cab, vol. 1, pb 18, 
fig. 36. Common in Eocene (Tejon formation and equivalents) on west 
coast. 

Fig. 7a. Same specimen as fig. 7. Magnified view of surface. 

Fig. 8 . Amauropsis alveatus Conrad. U.S.N.M. 165000. Front view of partially 
decorticated specimen; altitude 32 mm. Eocene, Rose Canyon, San 
Diego County. A characteristic Eocene gasteropod. 

Fig. 9. Morio ( Sconsia ) tubercutatns Gabb. U.S.N.M. 164999. Front view of an 
imperfect and decorticated specimen; altitude 27 mm. Eocene, Rose 
Canyon, San Diego County. Perfect specimens have an anteriorly plicate 
plate over the inner lip; outer lip crenulate; revolving lines on surface. 

Fig. 10 . Cylichna costatci Gabb. U.S.N.M. 165001. Front view of slightly imperfect 
specimen; altitude 18 mm., twice natural size. Eocene, Rose Canyon, 
San Diego County. Common in the Eocene (Martinez and Tejon forma¬ 
tions and equivalents). 


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PLATE XXVII. 


Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

Fig. 1. Peden (. Lyropecten) bowersi Arnold. Univ. California. Type. Right valve; 

altitude 150 mm.; about two-thirds natural size. Lower Miocene, Santa 
Inez Mountains, Santa Barbara County. Also abundant at same horizon 
in Santa Monica Mountains and elsewhere. Left valve of this species 
more convex than right; otherwise very similar. 

Fig. 2. Ostrea titan Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164987. Side view of both valves; altitude 
of large valve 131 mm.; two-thirds natural size. Lower Miocene, 3 miles 
south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. This species is found in both 
the upper and lower Miocene, and often grows to a length of 20 inches (500 
mm.) (See PI. XXXII, fig. 2.) 

Fig. 3. Purpura edmondi Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164983. Type. Aperture view; alti¬ 
tude 19 nun.; about 1J times natural size. Lower Miocene, 3 miles 
south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. 

Fig. 3a. Reverse view of same specimen as fig. 3; same enlargement. 

Fig. 4. Chlorostoma ( Omphalius) dalli Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164984. Type. Aperture 
view; latitude 12.5 mm.; 1J times natural size. Lower Miocene, 3 miles 
south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. A common species in this 
horizon. 

Fig. 4a. Top view of same specimen as fig. 4. 

Fig. 46. Base view of same specimen as fig. 4. 

Fig. 5. Chlorostoma ( Omphalius) dalli var. inornatus Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164986. 

Type. Top view; latitude 13.5 mm.; 1J times natural size. Same 
locality as fig. 4. 

Fig. 6. Chlorostoma ( Omphalius) dalli var. subnodosus Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164985. 

Type. Top view; latitude 13 mm.; 1J times natural size. Same locality 
as Fig. 4. 

Fig. 6a. Base view of same specimen as fig. 6. 

Fig. 7. Cerithium topangensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164976. Type. Aperture view of 
imperfect specimen; longitude 23 mm.; times natural size. Lower 
Miocene, 3 miles south of Calabasas, at head of Topanga Canyon, Los 
Angeles County. A common species at the type locality. 

Fig. 8. Cerithium topangensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164976. Cotype. Aperture view 
of imperfect specimen; longitude 13 mm.; IJ times natural size. Same 
locality as fig. 7. 

Fig. 9. Cancellaria cf. condoni Anderson. U.S.N.M. 164981. Back view of imperfect 
specimen; altitude 21 mm.; 1J times natural size. Lower Miocene, 3 
miles south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. This species appears to 
range from the San Joaquin Valley to the Santa Monica Mountains in the 
lower Miocene. 


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PLATE XXVIII. 


Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

Fig. 1. Pecten ( Lyropecten ) magnolia Conrad. Univ. California. Imperfect right 
valve; altitude 14.5 mm.; about two-thirds natural size. Lower Miocene, 
Yaqueros formation, Ojai Valley, Ventura County. Characteristic of the 
lower Miocene throughout central and southern California. The left valve 
has narrow, more rounded ribs. 

Fig. 2. Pecten (Lyropecten) estrellanus Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164851. Left valve; alti¬ 
tude 97 mm.; about two-thirds natural size. Upper Miocene, Wildhorse 
Canyon, Monterey County. This species is usually abundant in both the 
lower and upper Miocene faunas of central and portions of southern Cali¬ 
fornia. Ribs of right valve broader and anterior ear notched; otherwise 
similar to left. 

Fig. 3. Drillia sp. U.S.N.M. 164977. Type. Back view; longitude 13.5 nun.; about 
1J times natural size. Lower Miocene, head of Topanga Canyon, 3 miles 
south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. 

Fig. 4. Macron merriami Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164982. Type. Aperture view; longi¬ 
tude 23 mm.; about 1J times natural size. Lower Miocene, same locality 
as fig. 3. This species appears to range over central and southern Cali¬ 
fornia in the lower Miocene. 

Fig. 4a. Back view of same specimen as fig. 4. 

Fig. 5. Sigaretus perrini Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164979. Type. Aperture view of par¬ 
tially decorticated and imperfect specimen; altitude 18.5 mm.; about 1^ 
times natural size. Lower Miocene, same locality as fig. 3. 

Fig. 6. Turbo topangensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164980. Type. Aperture view; alti¬ 
tude 18.5 mm.; about 1J times natural size. Lower Miocene, same 
locality as fig. 3. 


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PL. XXVIII 



MIOCENE PELECYPODA AND GASTEROPODA. 




PLATE XXIX. 

Miocene Echinoidea and Pelecypoda. 

Fig. 1. Pecten (Amusium ) lompocensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 1G4852. Cotype. Inte¬ 
rior view, showing internal lirse; altitude 90 mm.; about two-thirds natu¬ 
ral size. Lower Miocene, Ojai Valley, Ventura County. This form, so 
far as known, is confined to the lower Miocene of Santa Barbara and Ven¬ 
tura counties. 

Fig. 2. Ostrea eldridgei Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164986. Type. View of exterior of larger 
valve; altitude 14.7 mm.; two-thirds natural size. Lower Miocene, sup¬ 
posed equivalent of Vaqueros formation, Elkins ranch, east of Grimes 
Canyon, south of Fillmore, Ventura County. 

Fig. 2a. Lateral view of same specimen as fig. 2. 

Fig. 3. Scutellafairbanksi Merriam. U.S.N.M. 164963. View of top, showing details; 

maximum diameter 36 mm.; 1J times natural size. Lower Miocene, sup¬ 
posed equivalent of Vaqueros formation, near Torrey Canyon wells, south¬ 
west of Piru, Ventura County; abundant. This species is also found near 
the base of the Vaqueros formation in the Sespe district. Supposed to 
be characteristic of the lower Miocene. 


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-r , 


MIOCENE ECHINOIDEA AND PELECYPODA. 




PLATE XXX. 

Miocene Echinoidea and Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

(All figures natural size.) 

Fig.1. Verms (Chione) temblorensis Anderson. U.S.N.M. 164989. Exterior of imper¬ 
fect right valve; longitude 80 mm. Lower Miocene, head of Topanga 
Canyon, 3 miles south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. Usually abun¬ 
dant in the lower Miocene; a nearly related, possibly identical form found 
in the upper Miocene. 

Fig. la. Top view of same specimen as fig. 1. 

Fig. 2. Mytilus matheivsonii Gabb var. expansus Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164968. Type. 

Right valve; altitude 10.5 mm. Lower Miocene, supposed equivalent of 
the Vaqueros formation, near Torrey Canyon wells, southwest of Piru, 
Ventura County. This species is usually found in the faunas of the lower 
Miocene through central and southern California. 

Fig. 3. Scutella fairbanksi Merriam. U.S.N.M. 164963. Same locality as fig. 2, but 
possibly at a somewhat lower horizon. 

Fig. 4. Ocinebra topangensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164995. Type. Back view; alti¬ 
tude 59 mm. Lower Miocene, Topanga Canyon, 3 miles south of Cala¬ 
basas, Los Angeles County. So far known only from this horizon. 


232 





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U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXX 


MIOCENE ECHINOIDEA, PELECYPODA, AND GASTEROPODA. 








PLATE XXXI. 


Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

(All figures natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Pecten (Lyropecteri) crassicardo Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164967. Exterior of valve, 
showing characteristic sculpture; altitude 90 mm. Lower Miocene, Ojai 
Valley, Ventura County. This species ranges through the lower and 
upper Miocene, being commoner in the former in southern California, in 
the latter in central California. It is sometimes more convex than the 
figured specimen, and often shows concentric undulations of the disk. 

Fig. 2. Pecten ( Chlamys) sespeensis var. hydei Arnold. Collection of Delos Arnold. 

Type. Right valve, ear missing; altitude 46 mm. Lower Miocene, 
Lynchs Mountain, San Luis Obispo County. Found also in the Vaqueros 
formation, Little Sespe Creek, and, with Mytilus mathewsonii Gabb, in 
supposed equivalents of the Vaqueros formation near the Torrey Canyon 
wells, Ventura County. 

Fig. 3. Pecten ( Pseudaviusium) peckhami Gabb. U.S.N.M. 164839. Right and left 
valves in matrix; altitude of largest 17 mm. Monterey shale (middle 
Miocene), southeast of Pinole, Contra Costa County. The type of this 
species came from the Ojai Valley, Ventura County. It is the commonest 
form in the shales of the middle Miocene (Monterey, Modelo, and equiva¬ 
lent formations) and is also known from the Oligocene in the Santa Cruz 
Mountains. 

Fig. 4. Neverita callosa Gabb. U.S.N.M. 164992. View from above, specimen 
slightly tilted; maximum latitude 44 mm. Lower Miocene, head of 
Topanga Canyon, 3 miles south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. 
Ranges through the Miocene. Common in the lower Miocene of southern 
San Joaquin Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains. 

Fig. 4a. Same specimen as fig. 4. View of base and aperture, showing characteristic 
shape of callous. 


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MIOCENE PELECYPODA AND GASTEROPODA 









PLATE XXXII. 


Miocene Pelecypoda, Gasteropoda, and Crustacea. 

(All figures natural size.) 

Fig. 1 . Pecten ( Hinnites) giganteus Gray. U.S.N.M. 164965. Exterior of right 
valve; altitude 90 mm. Lower Miocene, supposed equivalent of Vaque- 
ros formation, gulch east of Wiley Canyon, southwest of Pirn, Ventura 
County. A very variable species ranging from the lower Miocene to the 
Recent fauna. 

Fig. 2. Ostrea titan Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164987. View of exterior of larger valve; 

altitude 131 mm. Lower Miocene, 3 miles south of Calabasas, Los Ange¬ 
les County. A common form in the upper and lower Miocene; often 
grows to a length of 20 inches (500 mm.) or more. (See PI. XXVII, fig. 2.) 

Fig. 3. Trochita costellata Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164994. View from above; maximum 
diameter 38 mm. Same locality as fig. 2. Common in the Miocene. 

Fig. 4. Phacoides richthofeni Gabb. U.S.N.M. 164978. Right valve; altitude 17.5 
mm. Same locality as fig. 2. 

Fig. 5. Balanns concavus Broun. U.S.N.M. 164971. Type. Lateral view; maxi¬ 
mum latitude 26 mm. Lower Miocene or upper Oligocene, Little Sespe 
Creek, Ventura County. A very common species in this horizon. 

Fig. 5 a. Same species as fig. 5. Top view. 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXXII 



MIOCENE PELECYPODA, GASTEROPODA, AND CRUSTACEA. 



PLATE XXXIII. 


Miocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

(All figures natural size.) 

Fig. 1 . Pecten ( Chlamys) sespeensis Arnold. California State Mining Bureau. Cotype 
Portion of mold of interior of right valve; altitude 50 mm. Lower Mio¬ 
cene, Yaqueros formation, Sespe Canyon, Ventura County. A common 
species at the type locality; also found elsewhere in central and southern 
California in the lower Miocene. 

Fig. la. Mold of interior of left valve of same specimen as fig. 1. 

Fig. 2. Pecten (Chlamys) sesjieensis Arnold. California State Mining Bureau. Plasto- 
type. Cast of exterior of slightly imperfect left valve (young); altitude. 
18 mm. Same locality as fig. 1. 

Fig. 3. Pecten ( Lyropecten) vaughani Arnold. Collection of Delos Arnold. Type. 

Right valve; altitude 37 mm. Lower Miocene, supposed equivalent of 
Vaqueros formation, Ojai Valley, Ventura County. 

Fig. 3a. Same specimen as fig. 3. Left valve. 

Fig. 4. Dosinia ponderosa Gray. U.S.N.M. 164988. Imperfect right valve; altitude 
80 mm. Lower Miocene, 3 miles south of Calabasas, Los Angeles County. 
A common species from the lower Miocene to the Recent southern fauna 
of the west coast. 

Ftg. 5. Pleurotoma ( Dolichotoma) keepi Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164993. Type. Back 
view of imperfect specimen. Same locality as fig. 4. Found also in this 
horizon at several localities in southern San Joaquin Valley. 


238 


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MIOCENE PELECYPODA AND GASTEROPODA. 








PLATE XXXIV. 


Pliocene Pectens. 

(All figures about two-thirds natural size.) 

Fig. 1 . Pecten {Patinopecten) healeyi Arnold. U.S.N.M. 148012. Type. Exterior of 
right valve; altitude 121 mm. San Diego formation (Pliocene), San 
Diego County. A characteristic form in the lower Pliocene from San 
Mateo County to the Mexican line. Left valve with narrow rounded ribs 
and intercalaries; disk also less convex. 

Fig. 2. Pecten ( Lyropecten ) ashleyi Arnold. Univ. California. Type. Exterior of 
right valve; altitude 155 mm. Pliocene, Cerros Island, off Lower Cali¬ 
fornia. Also characteristic of the lower Pliocene, but so far known only 
as far north as Santa Barbara County. The left valve has slightly nar¬ 
rower ribs and no byssal notch in the anterior ear. 


240 


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BULLETIN NO. 309 


PL. XXXIV 



r w/ 


PLIOCENE PECTENS. 









PLATE XXXV. 

Pliocene Pectens. 

(Unless otherwise stated all figures are about two-thirds natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Pecten ( Chlamys) wattsi Arnold. California Acad. Sci. Type. Exterior of 
slightly imperfect left valve; altitude 66 mm. Lower Pliocene, Ivrey- 
enliagen’s ranch, Fresno County. Also found in the lower Pliocene of 
southern California. Right valve with broader, flatter ribs. 

Fig. 2. Pecten ( Pecten) stearnsii Dali. U.S.N.M. 148008. Exterior of left valve; 

altitude 87 mm. San Diego formation (Pliocene), Pacific Beach, San 
Diego County. Not rare in the Pliocene. (See PI. XXXVI, fig. 4, for 
right valve.) 

Fig. 3. Pecten ( Pecten) bellus Conrad. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 960. Exterior of right 
valve; altitude 80 mm.; about five-sixths natural size. Pliocene, Santa 
Barbara. Also found in Pliocene of Ventura, Santa Barbara, and adja¬ 
cent counties. Left valve slightly concave, with narrower ribs than right; 
otherwise similar. 

Fig. 4. Pecten ( Plagioctenium ) circularis Sowerbj-. U.S.N.M. 61246. Right valve; 

longitude 26 mm.; nearly natural size. Pleistocene, Ventura County. 
May also extend down into the Pliocene. 

Fig. 5. Pecten ( Pecten) vogdesi Arnold. California Acad. Sci. Cotype. Exterior of 
slightly imperfect left valve; altitude 74 mm. Pleistocene, Ventura 
County. Also occurs in supposed Pliocene near San Diego. Right valve 
very convex, with broad rounded ribs. 

Fig. 6. Pecten ( Plagioctenium ) cerrosensis Gabb. Univ. California. Exterior of left 
valve (anterior ear slight broken); altitude 106 mm. Pliocene, Cerros 
Island, off Lower California. Also found in the Pliocene near Camulos, 
Newhall, and San Diego. 

Fig. 7. Pecten ( Pecten) auburyi Arnold. California State Mining Bureau. Type. 

Exterior of imperfect right valve; altitude 46 mm. Pliocene, Puente 
Hills, Los Angeles County. Left valve slightly concave, with ribs nar¬ 
rower than in right. 


242 


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PLIOCENE PECTENS. 












PLATE XXXVI. 

Pliocene Pectens. 

(All figures about two-thirds natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Pecten ( Patinopecten) caurinus Gould. Collection of Delos Arnold. Exterior 
of left valve; altitude 105 mm. Pliocene, Deadman Island, Los Angeles 
County. Specimens of this species measuring over 8 inches (200 mm.) 
have been found in the Pliocene of Ventura County. This form appears 
to be confined to the upper Pliocene and Pleistocene in southern Cali¬ 
fornia. Right valve more convex and with broader square ribs and 
plain concentric sculpture. 

Fig. 2. Pecten ( Chlamys ) latiauritus Conrad. Collection of Delos Arnold. Exterior 
of right valve; altitude 25 mm. San Pedro formation (Pleistocene), San 
Pedro, Los Angeles County. Known also from the lower Pliocene at 
Los Angeles. 

Fig. 3. Pecten ( Chlamys) latiauritus Conrad. Collection of Delos Arnold. Exterior 
of left valve; altitude 27 mm. Same locality as fig. 2. 

Fig. 4. Pecten ( Pecten) stearnsii Dali. U.S.N.M. 148008. Exterior of right valve; 

altitude 87 mm. San Diego formation (Pliocene), Pacific Beach, San 
Diego County. (See PI. XXXV, fig. 2, for left valve.) 

Fig. 5. Pecten (Pseudamusium) pedroanus Trask. U.S.N.M. 164840. Exterior of 
right valve and young left valve; altitude of former, 22 mm. Lower 
Pliocene, Third street tunnel, Los Angeles. Also found in beds of 
supposed Miocene age in the Puente Hills and San Pedro. 

Fig. 6. Pecten ( Pseudamusium) pedroanus Trask. U.S.N.M. 164840. Exterior of 
imperfect left valve; altitude 30 mm. Same locality as fig. 5. 

Fig. 7. Pecten ( Chlamys) parmeleei Dali. U.S.N.M. 154479. Type. Left valve; 

altitude 45 mm.; about five-sixths natural size. Pliocene, Pacific Beach, 
San Diego County. Also known in Pliocene of Puente Hills. 

Fig. 8. Pecten ( Chlamys) opuntia Dali. U.S.N.M. 107752. Type. Right valve; 

altitude 33 mm.; about four-fifths natural size. Pliocene, Pacific Beach, 
San Diego County. Also common in Pliocene at Santa Barbara and 
elsewhere in southern California. 

Fig. 9. Pecten ( Pecten) merriami Arnold. California State Mining Bureau. Type. 

Exterior of imperfect left valve; altitude 110 mm. Pliocene, Piru 
Creek, Ventura County. Characteristic of the lower Fernando horizon 
(lower Pliocene or upper Miocene) so far as known. Right valve convex, 
with broader squarer ribs. 


244 


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PLIOCENE PECTENS. 









PLATE XXXVII. 

Pliocene Arcas. 

Fig. 1. Area camuloensis Osmont. California State Mining Bureau. Type. Right 
valve; altitude 89 mm. Fernando formation, lower Pliocene or upper 
Miocene, 1 mile north of Camulos, Ventura County. So far as known this 
species is characteristic of the lower horizon of the Fernando formation. 
Also reported from the Puente Hills. 

Fig. la. End view of same specimen as fig. 1. 

Fig. 16. Portion of surface of same specimen as fig. 1, enlarged, showing nodose ribs. 


246 


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PLIOCENE ARCAS, 










PLATE XXXVIII. 

Pliocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

(Unless otherwise stated all figures natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Area multicostata Sowerby. U.S.N.M. 12574. Right valve; longitude 101 
mm. Recent, San Diego. Found in the lower Pliocene (Fernando 
formation) in the Puente Hills, Orange County, and in the vicinity of 
Los Angeles. 

Fig. 2. Cardium quadrigenarium Conrad var . fernandoensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164947. 

Type. Imperfect left valve; longitude 58 mm. Lower Pliocene (Fer¬ 
nando formation), Elsmere Canyon, near Newhall, Los Angeles County. 
A common variety in the lower Pliocene. The typical form with 44 
ribs and less obliquity is found in the Recent. 

Fig. 2a. Same specimen as fig. 2. View of umbos from above. 

Fig. 3. Area trilineata Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164948. Right valve of medium-sized 
specimen; longitude 40 mm. Same locality as fig. 2. A common species 
in the Pliocene of California. Also appears to extend down as far as the 
middle Miocene (Monterey). 

Fig. 3a. Same specimen as fig. 3. Umbos and hinge area viewed from above. 

Fig. 4. Area trilineata Conrad. Portion of an adult left valve, showing the more com¬ 
plex sculpture of the ribs in the later stages of growth; altitude 60 mm. 
Same locality as fig. 2. 

Fig. 5. Leda taphria Dali. U.S.N.M. 164952. Right valve; longitude 36 mm.; 

twice natural size. Same locality as fig 2. This species is common from 
the Pliocene to the Recent fauna in the California province. 

Fig. 5 a. Same specimen as fig. 5. View of umbos from above. 

Fig. 6. Neverita recluziana Petit. U.S.N.M. 164960. Back view; latitude 25 mm. 

Same locality as fig. 2. A common species from the Pliocene to the 
Recent fauna; alsQ probably occurs in the Miocene. 


248 


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BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXXVIII 



PLIOCENE PELECYPODA AND GASTEROPODA 







PLATE XXXIX. 

Pliocene Bkachiopoda and Pelecypoda. 

(All figures natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Ostrea veatchii Gabb. U.S.N.M. 153827. Exterior of valve; altitude 90 mm. 

Lower Pliocene, San Diego. An abundant and characteristic species in 
many of the Pliocene localities from southern California to Cerros Island, 
off lower California. 

Fig. 2. Callista ( Amiantis) callosa Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164953. Imperfect left valve; 

altitude 50 mm. Lower Pliocene (Fernando formation), Elsmere Can¬ 
yon, near Newhall, Los Angeles County. Base evenly rounded in perfect 
specimens. Common from Pliocene to Recent. 

Fig. 3. Callista subdiaphana Carpenter. U.S.N.M. 164951. Imperfect right valve; 

longitude 41 mm. Same locality as fig. 2. Abundant in the Pliocene and 
also found in the Recent. 

Fig. 4. Terebratalia smithi Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164977. Pedicle valve; longitude 42 
mm. Pliocene, Temescal Canyon, 3 miles north of Santa Monica, Los 
Angeles County. Known only from the Pliocene. A somewhat variable 
species. 

Fig. 4a. Same specimen as fig. 4. Brachial valve. 

Fig. 5. Terebratalia smithi Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164977. Pedicle valve; longitude 29 
mm. Same locality as fig. 4. More prominent ribbing than specimen 
shown in fig. 4. 

Fig. 5a. Same specimen as fig. 5. Brachial valve. 

Fig. 6. Terebratalia occidentals Dali. U.S.N.M. 164996. Brachial valve; longitude 
40 mm. Same locality as fig. 4. This species is most variable, as is 
evidenced by this and the following figures, which show a series col¬ 
lected at one locality. Found in the lower Pliocene (and possibly upper 
Miocene). 

Fig. 7. Same species and locality as fig. 6. Pedicle valve; longitude 29 mm. 

Fig. 7a. Same specimen as fig. 7. Brachial valve. 

Fig. 8. Same species and locality as fig. 6. Pedicle valve; longitude 22 mm. 

Fig. 8a. Same specimen as fig. 8. Brachial valve. 

Fig. 9. Same species and locality as fig. 6. Pedicle valve of a less rugose variety; 
longitude 21 mm. 

Fig. 9a. Same specimen as fig. 8. Brachial valve. 

250 


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BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XXXIX 





PLIOCENE BRACHIOPODA AND PELECYPODA 



PLATE XL. 

Pliocene Pelecypoda and Gasteropoda. 

(Unless otherwise stated, all figures are natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Mya truncata Linne. U.S.N.M. 164950. Left valve; longitude 46 mm. 

Pliocene (Fernando formation), Elsmere Canyon, near Newhall, Los 
Angeles County. Found also in the Recent fauna of the Arctic regions. 

Fig. 2. Trochita filosa Gabb. U.S.N.M. 164949. Slightly imperfect specimen 
viewed from above; maximum diameter 20 mm.; twice natural size. 
Samg locality as fig. 1. Also found in the upper Miocene. 

Fig. 2a. Same specimen as fig. 2. View from the side. 

Fig. 3. Fissuridea marina Carpenter. U.S.N.M. 164945. Specimen viewed from 
above; longitude 14.5 mm.; twice natural size. Lower Pliocene, Third 
street tunnel, Los Angeles. Also found in the Pleistocene and Recent 
fauna of the coast. 

Fig. 3a. Same specimen as fig. 3. View from the side. 

Fig. 4. Cancellaria fernandoensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164956. Back view of imperfect 
specimen; altitude 17 mm.; twice natural size. Same locality as fig. 1. A 
similar or identical form was found in the Pliocene of the San Diego well. 

Fig. 5. Tritonium sp. U.S.N.M. 164954. Back view of imperfect specimen; alti¬ 
tude 20 mm.; twice natural size. Same locality as fig. 1. 

Fig. 6. Pisania fortis Carpenter var. angulata Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164959. Aperture 
view of imperfect young; altitude 30 mm. Same locality as fig. 1. A 
rather common species in the Pleistocene and Pliocene of central and 
southern California. 

Fig. 7. Pisania fortis Carpenter var. angulata Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164958. Aperture 
view of imperfect adult; altitude 49 mm. Same locality as fig. 1. 

Fig. 8. Cyprxa fernandoensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164961. Type. View from back; 
longitude 40 mm. So far known only from same locality as fig. 1. 

Fig. 8a. Same specimen as fig. 8. Aperture view. 

Fig. 9. Nassa hamlini Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164946. Type. Aperture view of imper¬ 
fect specimen; longitude 15 mm. Same locality as fig. 3. 

Fig. 10. Chrysodomus cf. arnoldi Rivers. U.S.N.M. 164962. Back view of imperfect 
specimen. Same locality as fig. 1. Known also from the Pleistocene 
of San Pedro, Los Angeles County. 

Fig. 11. Priene oregonensis Redfield var(?) angelensis Arnold. U.S.N.M 164975. Back 
view of imperfect and slightly contorted specimen; longitude 71 mm. 
Same locality as fig. 3. Common in the lower Pliocene of the Pacific 
coast. It is the precursor of the Recent Priene oregonensis Redfield. 

Fig. 12. Murex eldridgei Arnold. U.S.N.M 164955. Type. Back view; longitude 
24 mm.; twice natural size. Known only from the same locality as fig. 
1. Near the Recent M. incisa Broderip. 

Fig. 13. Pecten ( Chlamys ) hastatus Sowerby var. strategics Dali. Collection of Delos 
Arnold. Left valve; altitude 36 mm. Pliocene, Santa Barbara. 
Also found in the Pliocene of southern California. 

Fig. 14. Pecten ( Chlamys) bellilamellatus Arnold. Type. Right valve; altitude 18 
mm. Pliocene, Pacific Beach, San Diego. Known only from this 
horizon at this locality. 


252 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL 


PLIOCENE PELECYPODA AND GASTEROPODA. 






PLATE XLI. 

Tertiary Turritellas. 

(All figures natural size.) 

Fig. 1. Turritella pachecoensis Stanton. U.S.N.M. 165002. Back view of imperfect 
specimen; altitude 59 mm. Eocene, Rock Creek, Los Angeles County. 
This species is supposed to be characteristic of the Martinez formation 
(lower Eocene.) 

Fig. 2. Turritella uvasana Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164974. Wax cast, back view; altitude 
41 mm. Sespe Canyon, Ventura County. Supposed to be character¬ 
istic of the Tejon formation (middle Eocene). 

Fig. 3. Turritella uvasana Conrad. U.S.N.M. 165004. Back view of imperfect speci¬ 
men; altitude 44 mm. Eocene, Rose Canyon, San Diego County. 

Fig. 4. Turtriella ineziana Conrad (-f P. hoffmanni Gabb). U.S.N.M. 164964. Lower 
Miocene, supposed equivalent of the Fourfork formation, Chaffee Can¬ 
yon, southwest of Piru, Ventura County. Supposed to be characteristic 
of the lower Miocene; found from San Mateo to San Diego counties. 

Fig. 5. Turritella ineziana Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164969. Back view of imperfect speci¬ 
men; altitude 36 mm. Tar Creek, north of Fillmore, Ventura County. 
Common in the Vaquers formation, but good specimens are hard to 
obtain. 

Fig. 6. Turritella ineziana Conrad var. sespeensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164970. Type. 

Aperture view of imperfect specimen; altitude 34 mm. Same locality 
as fig. 5. 

Fig. 7. Turritella ocoyana Conrad. U.S.N.M. 164990. Back view of imperfect large 
specimen; altitude 60 mm. Topanga Canyon, 3 miles south of Calabasas, 
Los Angeles County. Supposed to be characteristic of the lower Miocene. 
Common in central and southern California. 

Fig. 8. Same species and locality as fig. 7; altitude 58 mm. 

Fig. 9. Same species and locality as fig. 7; altitude 32 mm.; upper whorls. 

Fig. 10. Turritella variata Conrad, U.S.N.M. 164991. Back view of imperfect speci¬ 
men; altitude 34 mm. Same locality as fig. 7. Supposed to be charac¬ 
teristic of the lower Miocene; so far known only in Fresno County and 
south. 

Fig. 11. Same species and locality as fig. 10. Slender variety; altitude 59 mm. 

Fig. 12. Same species and locality as fig. 10. Broad variety; altitude 43 mm. 

Fig. 13. Turritella cooperi Carpenter (var.?) fernandoensis Arnold. U.S.N.M. 164957. 

Type. Aperture view of imperfect specimen; altitude 31 mm. Lower 
Pliocene, Fernando formation, Elsmere Canyon, near Newhall, Los 
Angeles County. A common form in the lower Pliocene of southern 
California. 

Fig. 14. Turritella cooperi Carpenter. Collection of Delos Arnold. Aperture view 
of typical form. Lower Pleistocene, lower San Pedro formation, Dead- 
man Island, San Pedro, Los Angeles County. Common in the Pliocene 
and lower Pleistocene from Ventura County southward. 

Fig. 15. Turritella jewetti Carpenter. Collection of Delos Arnold. Typical form, 
aperture view; altitude 70 mm. Same locality and horizon as fig. 14; 
geologic and geographic range also about the same. 


254 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN NO. 309 PL. XLI 


TERTIARY TURRITELLAS. 




INDEX 


Figures in italic denote illustrations of fossils. 


A. 


Page. 


Acknowledgments to those assisting. 1, 


102,138,203 

Acmaea pelta F.schscholtz. 27 

sp. 17 

Actseon (Rictaxis) punctoeoelata Carpenter. 27 

Adams Canyon, fossils near. 20 

oil wells in. 4,42,45 

oil of, analyses of. 209,211,212 

rocks in. 43,49 

Agasoma barkerianum Cooper. 147 

kernianum Cooper. 147 

Aliso Canyon, oil wells in. 4,42,45,49 

Amauropsis alveatus Conrad. 224 

Amiantis callosa Conrad. 25, 250 

Amusium lompocensis Arnold. 230 

Analyses of oil. 209-217 

methods of. 205-208 

Anatina sp. 11 

Angulus buttoni Dali. 27 

Anomia lampe Gray. 27 

Antisell, Thomas, explorations of.138.139 

on bituminous effusions. 140 

Area. 247 

camuloensis Osmont. 2 4,246 

labiata Sowerby. 2G 

multicostata Sowerby. 107,152,^8 

montereyana Osmont. 14G 

trilineata Conrad. 25,107 ,248 

Arnold, Ralph, bibliography compiled by. 199-202 

fossils determined by. 12,14,17,25,20 

on fossils of oil-bearing formations... 219-254 

on Los Angeles oil field.138-198 

on physical and chemical properties of 

southern California oils. 203-218 

Asphaltum, description of. 139-141 

Astarte sp. 152 

Astrodapsis whitneyi Conrad. 2G 

Astyris gausapata Gould.27,107 

gausapata var. carinata Hinds. 27 

richthofeni Gabb_.•. 26 

B. 

Balanus concavus Bronn. 13,27, 236 

sp. 14 

Baptist College area, oil wells in, geology 

of. 175-178 

oil wells in, records of. 177,178 

Bard Oil and Asphalt Co., wells of. 4fi 

Bardsdale Crude Oil Co., wells of. 10,78,79 

Bardsdale oil field, gas in. 79 

geology and structure of. 76-79 

location of. 76 

oil wells of. 79-80 


oil of, analyses of. 209,211,212,214-215 


Page. 


Barlow’s ranch, fossils from. 27 

Basalt, occurrence and description of. 150 


Basement rocks, character and distribution 


oil in. 5 

Bibliography of southern California oils.'. 199-202 

Big Sespe Canyon, location of. 4 

See also Sespe oil fields. 

Bison sp. 154 

Bittium asperum Gabb. 20,27,153 

S P. 147 

Bitumen, description of. 139,140-141 

Blake, W. P., explorations of. ]38 

on oil. 139 

Brea, occurrence and description of. 134, 

139-141,154-155,157,187,194 

Brea Canyon field, geology of. 120-121 

location of. 120 

oil wells of. 123-125,133 

oil of, analyses of.210,212,213-215 

structure of. 121-123 

tankage in. 134 

view of.. 120 

Brea Canyon Oil Co., wells of. 123-124 

wells of, oil of, analyses of.210,212,213 

Brea Ridge, rocks on. 106,125 

Brush Mountain, rocks of. 34 

structure at. 34 

Buccinum sp. 152 

Buckhorn Oil and Transportation Co., wells 

of. 69 

wells of, oil of, analyses of. 209,211,212 

Bulla punctulata A. Adams. 107 

Bulla wells, rocks near. 113 

Bulloid sp. 24 

Burrows & Sons, oil wells of, oil of, analyses 

of. 209,211,212 


C. 


Cadulus fusiformis Sharp and Pilsbry. 27 

Cahuenga Pass, rocks at and near. 150 

Calabasas, fossils near..". 147 

California, index map of southern part of.. 2 

oil of. See Oil. 

California Oil Co., well of. 98 

Calliostoma costatum Martyn. 107,153 

sp...2G,147 

Callista (Amiantis) callosa Conrad.. 260 

diabloensis Anderson. 147 

subdiaphana Carpenter. 24,25 ,250 

Camulos, fossils near. 24 

Cancellaria condoni Anderson. 147,226 

fernandoensis Arnold. 25, 252 

tritonidea Gabb.27,153 

sp. 24,107 

257 




































































































258 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Canis indianensis. 154 

sp. 154 

Carcharodon rectus Agassiz. 153 

Cardium brewerii Gabb. 224 

cooperi Gabb. 222 

corbis Conrad. 26,107 

procerum Sowerby. 26 

linteum Conrad. 11 

quadrigenarium Conrad var. fernando- 

ensis Arnold. 25,27,107, 24$ 

sp. 17,24,147 

Castac Creek, character of. 3 

Central field, development of. 158-159,172 

geology of. 165-170 

location of. 165 

oil wells of. 167-169,172 

oil of, analyses of.210.211,213 

records of. 168,169 

section across, figure showing. 171 

structure of. 170-171 

topography of. 165 

view of. 168 

Central Oil Co., pipe line of. 135 

wells of. 101 

oil of, analysis of.210,212,213 

view of, Murphy wells and. 112 

Cerithidea californica IJaldeman. 153 

Ccrithium topangensis Arnold. 147 ,226 

Chaffee Canyon, fossils from. 17 

rocks of. 80 

Chaffee syncline, description of.80-81 

Chama exogyra Conrad. 153 

Chandler wells, location of... 114 

Chino field, location of. 132 

oil in. 110,132 

Chino Oil Co., wells of. 132 

Chione fluctifraga Sowerby. 107 

mathewsoni Gabb. 26 

succincta Valenciennes. 27 

temblorensis Anderson. 14,147,333 

whitneyi Gabb. 26 

sp. 14,146 

Chlamys bellilameMtus Arnold. 252 

calkinsi Arnold. 224 . 

hastatus Sowerby var. str^tegus Dali.. 252 

latiauritus Conrad. 24.4 

opuntia Dali. 244 

parmeleei Dali. 244 

sespeensis Arnold. 234,238 

wattsii Arnold. 242 

Chlorostoma (Omphalius) dalli Arnold. 147 

dalli var. inornatus Arnold. 226 

var. subnodosus Arnold. 226 

funebrale A. Adams. 27 

sp. 24 

Chorus belcheri Hinds.26,27 

Chrysodomus arnoldi Rivers. 25 ,252 

sp.-. 24 

Clampitt, E. A., oil well of, oil of, analysis 

of. 210,211,213 

Clathurellaconradiana Gabb. 153 

Clidiophora punctata Conrad. 26 

Coldwater anticline, location of.31,51,54 

oil in. 33,54 

rocks in.. 7,8,55 


Page. 

Colegrove, brea near. 154 

oil field near. 158 

wells of, geology of.182-184 

records of. 183-184 

Columbella (Astyris) gausapata Gould. 27 

var. caiinata Hinds. 27 

Columbia Oil and Producing Co., wells of.. 30,128 

wells of, oil of, analyses of.210,212,213 

Columnar section, figure showing. 144 

Consolidated Crude Oil Co., well of, oil of, 

analysis of.210,211,213 

Conus californicus Ilinds.24,107 

sp. 24 

Cooper, II. N., analyses of. 209-213 

on methods of analyses of oil. 205-20S 

Cooper, ,T. G., fossils determined by-11,26,152 


Corbula luteola Carpenter. 

sp. 

Correlations, table of. 

Coyote Hills, rocks in.. 

Coyote Hills anticline, description of 

Cracks, joint, occurrence of. 

Crepidula adunca Sowerby. 

princeps Conrad... 

rugosa Nuttall. 

Crown King well, location of. 

Cryptoyma californica Conrad. 

Crystalline schist, oil in. 

Cylichna alba Brown. 

costata Gabb. 

sp. 

Cypraea femandoensis Arnold. 


. 153 

. 11,24 

. 143 

_ 106,109 

. 109 

. 157 

. 27 

. 26,153 

. 27,107 

. 75 

25,26,27,153 
_ 100-101 


224 

147 

252 


D. 


Davis and Harrison, oil wells of, oil of, 


analyses of.210,211,213 

Dentalium cooperi Gabb. 11 

hexagonum Sowerby. 27 

neohexagonum Sharp and Pilsbry. 107 

semipolitum Broderip. 26 

sp. 14,107 

Devils Gate, oil wells near. 54-55 

Dewitt Canyon, oil wells in. 4,95 

Diabase, occurrence of. 106 

Diplodonta orbella Gould. 153 

Dolichotoma carpenteriana Gabb. 25 

keepi Arnold.. 147,338 

Donax l-.evigata Dcshayes. 27 

Dosinia ponderosa Gray. 24,147,338 

sp. 17 

Drillia hemphilli Stearns. 27 

inermis Hinds_.•. 27 

inermis var. penicillata Carpenter. 27 

sp. 147,153,338 

E. 

East Canyon, oil wells in. 96 

Eastern field, development of.. 159,164-165 

geology of. 160-162 

location of. 160 

oil wells of. 160-162,164-165 

oil of, analyses of.210,211,213 

records of. 162 

structure of. 163-164 

topography of. 160 

view of. 168 




























































































































INDEX. 


259 


Page. 

Echinarachnius excentricus Eschscholtz. 24,20,27 


Echinoidea.7. 231,233 

Edgemont, rocks near. 145,140 

Eldridge, G. II., fossils collected by. 26 

on Puente Hills oil district. 102-137 

on Santa Clara Valley oil district. 1-101 

work and death of. \... xi, 138,141-142 

Elephas. 154 

Elkin’s ranch, fossils near. 17 

Elsmere anticline, description of. 97 

oil in. 98 

Elsmere Canyon, fossils from. 25 

oil wells in. 99 

oil of, analyses of. 209-211,213 

Elsmere oil field, geology and structure of.. 97-98 

location of. 4,96 

wells of.98-101 

oil of, analyses of. 214-215 

view of. 48 

Elsmere Ridge, oil wells on. 99 

view of. 48 

Elysian Park anticline, description of. 155-156,163 

oil in. 156-157 

Elysian Park hills, rocks of. 145-146,149,160 

Empire Oil Co., wells of. 50 

Enterprise well, data on. 97 

Eocene fossils. 223,225 

Equus. 154 

Eulima micans Carpenter. 27 

hastata Sowerby. 27 

Eureka Canyon, oil field in, geology and 

structure of.80-86 

oil field in, location of. 80 

wells of. 4,'87-89 

log of.- 88 

rocks in. 81-83 

Eureka Ridge, rocks of. 82 

F. 

Faults, occurrence of. 29,30-31.34,35 

See also particular districts. 

Fernando formation, age and character of.. 22-23, 

106,150-152 

correlation of. 22,23,24 

distribution of. ... 22-23,43,49,52-53,66-68,75, 
77-78,81-84,91-93,97,106,113,115,118, 
120-123,125-131,144, 152, 173-174, 186 

fossils of. 23-28,107,152 

oil in. 45,86,98,99,110-113,115,126,193 

Fernando Pass, fossils from. 25 

Fissuridea murina Carpenter. 107.152 ,252 

Foot-of-the-Hill wells, data on. 58-60 

fossils near. 18 

map of. 59 

Fortuna wells, data on. 69-70 

map of. 70 

view of. 70 

Fossils, character and distribution of. 11-17, 

24-28,107.146-148,152-153,219-220 

plates showing. 223-255 

Fourfork Creek, oil wells on. 12,60-61 

oil wells on, map of. 00 

rocks on. 18 

Fourfork wells, oil of analyses of. 216-217 

Freeman and Nelson, oil wells of. 98,100 


Page. 

Fryers Peak, section through, figure show¬ 


ing . 92 

Fuel, use of oil for. 135,204 

Fullerton Oil Co., wells of.' 128 

Fusus barbarensis Trask. 107 

remondii Gabb. 224 

rugosus Trask. 24 

sp. 14,147 

G. 

Galerus inornatus Gabb. 26 

Garberson Canyon, prospecting in. 4 

well in. 79-80 

Gas, analysis of. 204 

occurrence of. 134 

Gas making, use of oil for. 204 

Gasteropoda. 107, 

147,225, 229,233,235,237,239,249,253 
Geologic formations, correlation table of... 143 

descriptions of. 4-29,103-107.143-155 

Geologic maps. See Map, geologic. 

Geology. See Geologic formations; Struc¬ 
ture; particular oil Helds. 

Glycymeris barbarensis Conrad. 153 

intermedia Broderip. 26 

veatchii Gabb var. major Stanton. 224 

sp. 147 

Goat Mountain, fossils from. 26 

Graham-Loftus Oil Co., wells of. 129.130 

Granite, occurrence and description of. 145 

Granitic basement, character and distribu¬ 
tion of. 5 

oil in. 5 

Grimes Canyon, fossils near. 17 

oil wells in. 4 

rocks in. 78 

H. 

Hamlin, Homer, Fernando formation named 

by. 22 

fossils determined by. 152 

Happy Thought wells, data on. 58 

Hinnites giganteus Gray. 17,153,23^ 

Hipponyx cranioides Carpenter. 26 

Holser anticline, description of. 67-68 

oil in. 68 

Holser Canyon, oil wells in. 75 

Home Oil Co., wells of, oil of, analysis of... 210, 

212,213 

rocks near. 112,113 

I Hoover street, Los Angeles, section along, 

figure showing. 175 

Hopper anticline, description of. 64 

oil in. 67 

Hopper Canyon, oil wells in. 4, 

34-35,65.68-70 

oil wells in, oil of, analyses of.20,211,212 

rocks in. 18,53 

structure at. 82 

views in. 2,70 

llopper-Piru oil fields, faults in. 65 

location of.4,64 

oil wells of. 64-68 

structure of. 68-75 











































































































INDEX. 


260 


I. 

Ivors anticline, location of. 

oil wells on.. 

Iver^ wells, data on. 

location of, map showing... 

K. 

Tvellia suborbicularis Montague 

lventuck wells, data on. 

location of, map showing... 

oil of, analysis of. 

structure at. 


Page. 

51,5G 
51 
55-56 


153 

56-58 

57 


216-217 

33,56-57 


L. 

La Brea Rancho Oil and Asphalt Co., well of, 


oil of, analyses of.210,211,213 

La Habra Canyon, oil field in, geology of.. 115 

oil field in, location of. 115 

structure of. 116-117 

wells in. 117 

oil of, analyses of.210,211,213 

rocks in. 106 

Lacuna compacta Carpenter. 27 

solidula Loven. 26 

sp. 27 

Ltevicardium centifilosum Carpenter. 26 

Lake Shore avenue, Los Angeles, section 

along, figure showing. 171 

Langdell, Newmark and Roan, oil wells of. 40 

Laqueus californicus Koch. 153 

Laughlins Hill, rocks of. 150 

Leda gabbi Conrad. 11 

taphria Dali. 24,107,146,2^8 

sp. 11,14,27 

Lima hamlini Dali. 152 

Lion Canyon, bitumen in. 29 

oil wells in. 40 

rocks in. 9-10,28-29 

Lion Canyon fault, location of. 38 

Lion Hill, faults at. 38 

oil wells on. 40 

rocks in. 38 

Literature on southern California oils_ 199-202 

Lithophagus plumula Reeve. 153 

Little Sespe Creek, canyon of. oil wells in.. 4 

canyon of, oil wells in, oil of, analyses 

of. 209,211,212 

fossils on and near. 13 

oil wells on. 58 

map showing. 59 

rocks on. 13 

See also Sespe oil fields. 

Littorina scutulata Gould. 27 

Los Angeles, fossils in and near. 147,152-153 

oil in and near. See Los Angeles oil dis¬ 
trict. 

rocks near. 148 

Los Angeles anticline, description of.184-185 

Los Angeles district, brea in. 139-141,153-154 

columnar section in, figure showing. 144 

correlation in. 143 

explorations in. 138-142 

folds and faults in. 155-157 

future development of. 196-197 

geologic formations in. 143-155 

map showing. 144 


Page. 

Los Angeles district, lagoon in, view of . 188 


location of. 142 

map of. 158 

Miocene sandstone in, view of. 166 

oil of. 203-217 

analyses of. 210-217 

gravity of....203 

oil derricks in, removal of. 159-160 

oil fields of. 156-157 

descriptions of. 158-195 

development of. 158-160 

location of. 158 

oil prospects in southwest and west of . 197 

oil wells of. 162,167-169,174-184,187-193 

location of, map showing. 158 

Pliocene sandstone in, view of... 188 

production of. 198 

sections in, figures showing. 171, 

175,178,181,189 

storage in. 198 

structure of. 155-157 

sections of, plate showing. 162 

topography of. 142-143 

transportation of oil in. 198 

See also Central, Eastern, Western, and 
Salt Lake fields. 

Los Angeles Pacific R"wy. Co., wells of, oil of, 

analyses of.. 209,211,212 

Los Angeles Rwy. Co., well of, oil of, analy¬ 
ses of. 210,211,213 


Los Angeles River, oil prospects east of.... 196 

Los Angeles wells. See Foot-of-the-Hill 


wells. 

Lower Ojai Valley, section across, figure 

showing. 9 

See also Ojai Valley. 

Lunatia lewisii Gould.24,26 

Lyon, L. II., wells of. 71 

Lyons anticline, description of. 65-66 

oil in. 67 

Lyropecten ashleyi Arnold. 

bowersi Arnold. 226 

crassicardo Conrad. 234 

estrellanus Conrad. 228 

magnolia Conrad. 228 

vaughani Arnold. 238 

M. 

Macintosh well, oil of, analyses of.216-217 

McKittrick district, oil wells of. 109 

Macoma indentata Carpenter... 7. 25 

inquinata Deshayes. 153 

nasuta Conrad. 27,147,153 

secta Conrad. 24 

sp. 25,26,27,152 

Macron merriami Arnold. 147, 228 

Mactra californica Conrad. 153 

catilliformis Conrad. 27 

hemphilli Dali. 25 

Maltman well, oil of. analyses of. 216-217 

Mangilia angulata Carpenter. 27 

sp. 24 

Manley (M.) & Co., oil well of, oil of, analy¬ 
sis of. 210,211,213 

Map of Los Angeles district. 158 









































































































INDEX 


261 


Page. 

Map of Puente Hills district. 110 

of Santa Clara Valley. 3(5 

Map, geologic, of Los Angeles district. 144 

of Puente Hills. 102 

of Santa Clara Valley. Pocket. 

Map, index, showing location of oil fields... 2 

Margarita sp. 26 

Matilija Creek, hot springs on. 3 

Menges Oil Co., wells of. 123,124 

Meretrix californiana Conrad. 11 

hornii Gabb.. 222 

Merriam, J. C., fossils determined by. 24 

on Fernando fossils. 23 

on Los Angeles brea fossils. 154 

Metis alta Conrad. 24,26,107 

Miocene basalt, occurrence and description 

of. 150 

Miocene fossils. 227,229,231,233,235,237,239 

Miocene sandstone, views of. 166 

Mitra maura Swainson...26,153 

Modelo anticline, description of.’. 64-65,71-72 

location of.32,34 

oil in. 34-35,65,67,69 

Modelo Canyon, bitumen in. 20 

oil wells in. 4,18,65,71-74 

oil of, analyses of. 209,211,213-215 

records of. 73 

view in. 70 

rocks in. 18,64-65 

Modelo formation, bitumen in. 20 

burning of. 22 

character of. 17,20-21 

correlation of... 18,20-22 

distribution of. 17-21, 

37,42-43, 47, 49,53,62-63,64-67,77,81-86 

faults in.37,44 

fossils in.20,37 

Monterey formation and, relations of... 17 

oil in. 18,20,34, 40,41, 45-46,69,71-74,86 

subdivisions of, description of. 18-20 

Vaqueros formation and, relations of. 13,19-20 

Modelo Oil Co., wells of. 34,72-74 

wells of, logs of. 73 

oil of, analyses of. 209,211,213 

view of. 70 

Modelo syncline, location of. 32 

Modiolus fornicatus Carpenter. 27 

Modiolus ornatus Gabb. 222 

rectus Conrad. 25,26,107 

sp. 12,27 

Monia macroschisma Dali. 25 

Monoceros engonatum Conrad. 27 

lugubre Sowerby. 26 

Monterey formation, correlation of Modelo 

and. 18,20-21 

correlation of Puente and. 105 

fossils in. 21 

Morio (Sconsia) tuberculatus Gabb. 224 

Murex eldridgei Arnold. 26 ,252 

monoceros Sowerby. 26 

Murphy Oil Co., pipe line of. 135 

wells of. HI 

oil of, analysis of. 204 

view of Central wells and. 112 

Mya truncata Linne. 25,252 


Bull. 309—07-18 


Page. 

Mylodon sp. 154 

Mytilus mathewsonii Gabb var. expansus 

Arnold. 14, ,17,147 ,232 

N. 

Nassa californiana Conrad. 24,26,27,153 

cretacea Gabb. 11 

fossata Gould. 27.107.153 

hamlini Arnold. 152 ,252 

mendica Gould.27,153 

var. cooperi Forbes. 26 

perpinguis Hinds. 26,27,107,153 

sp. 14 

Natica sp. 147 

Nesera dolabriformis Gabb. 11 

Neptunea altispira Gabb. 26 

humerosa Gabb. 25 

Nettleton and Kellerman, oil wells of.98,99 

Neverita callosa Gabb. 147 ,234 

recluziana Petit. 25,28,107,152,153, 248 

var. alta Dali. 28 

sp. 14,147 

New Camulos well, location of. 75 

New Century Oil Co., oil wells of.98,100 

New England Oil -,o., wells of_,. 117 

rocks near. . 116 

Newhall, rocks near. 22 

wells near, location of, map shoving.... 100 

view of. 48 

Newhall district, subdivisions of. 90 

Newhall well, data on. 96 

Nigger anticline, location of. 35 

oil wells on. 35 

Nigger Canyon, oil wells in. 4,71 

Nordhoff, location of. 36 

oil wells near.39,40 

North Whittier Oil Co., wells of. 114-115 

Nucula castrensis Hinds. 24 

solitaria Gabb. 11 

truncata Gabb. 11 


O. 


Oak Pidge, elevation of. 3 

fossils on. 17 

oil wells on. 4 

rocks of. 10,15,20-22,53,78-79,85 

view of. 46 

Oak Ridge-South Mountain anticline, de¬ 
scription of. 77-79 

oil wells on..'.79-80 

Oat Mountain, rocks on. 13,53 

structure of.31,63 

Ocinebra lurida Middendorf. 153 

topangensis Arnold. 147 ,232 

Odostomia gouldii Carpenter. 28 

nuciformis var. avellana Carpenter. 28 

tenuis Carpenter. 28 ' 

Ohio, oil of, composition of. 204 

Oil, associates of. 134 

analyses of. 209-217 

methods of. 205-208 

character of. 133,203-217 


See also particular wells. 

























































































































262 


INDEX 


Page. 

Oil, color of. 203 

composition of. 204 

geologic relations of. 109-110,132-133 

gravity of.•. 203 

occurrence of, north of Santa Clara River 32-35 

prices of. 136 

production of. 136,198 

products of. 205 

storage and transportation of_ 134-135,198 

utilization of. 135-136,204 

Oil companies, list of. 137,195 

Oil fields, descriptions of... 36-101,110-132,158-198 

location of. 4,36,110,158 

map showing. 2 

Oil refineries, list of. 218 

products of. 205,218 

Oil wells, location of, maps shoving... 36,110,158 

yield of. 133-134 

Ojai Oil Co., wells of... 48 

Ojai Valley, description of. 3 

faults in. 3,30-31,36-39 

fossils in. 14,21,37 

oil fields in, description of.36-42 

location of. 4,36 

oil of, analyses of. 209,211,212,214-215 

rocks in. 9,13-15,20,29 

structure of. 30-31,36-39 

See also Upper Ojai Valley; Lower Ojai 
Valley. 

Olinda field, fault in. 126 

geology of. 104,125 

section showing. 130 

location of. t .. 125 

oil wells in. 131-133,203 

oil of, analyses of.210,212,213-215 

structure in. 126-131 

plate showing. 130 

tankage in. 134 

. view of. 124 

Olivella biplicata Sowerby. 28 

intorta Carpenter. 25,26,28 

pedroana Conrad. 28 

sp. 27 

Omphalius dalli var. inornatus Arnold. 226 

dalli var. subnodosus Arnold. 226 

Ostrea eldridgei Arnold. 17,230 

idriaensis Gabb. 12 

titan Conrad. 17,147, 226,236 

veatchii Gabb. 24,107,152,153 

sp. 14 

Oxyrhina plana Agassiz. 153 

tumula Agassiz. 153 

P. 

Pachypoma sp. 24 

Pacific Coast Oil Co., wells of. 94,96,98,99 

wells of, oil of, analyses of. 209-211,213 

Paleontology. See Fossils. 

Panopea generosa Gould. 17,25,26,146 

Park Crude Oil Co., well of, analysis of. 210, 

211,213 

Parke, J. G., explorations by. 139 

Pasadena, fossils from.„. 146 

Patinopecten caurinus Gould. 244 

healeyi Arnold. 240 


P age. 

Pearl Oil Co., w r ells of.. 98-9$ 

wells of, oil of, analysis of. 209,211,213 

Pecten. 241,243,245 

(Lyropecten) ashleyi Arnold. 152,240 

auburyi Arnold. 153,2^2 

bellue Conrad. 24,2^2 

(Lyropecten) bowersi Arnold. 147 ,226 

(Patinopecten) caurinus Gould. 25 ,244 

.(Chlamys) calkinsi Arnold. 11,224 

(Plagioctenium) cerrosensis Gabb. 2 4,242 

(Plagioctenium) circulars Sowerby.... 242 

(Lyropecten) crassicardo Conrad.. 14,147, 234 

(Lyropecten) estrellanus Conrad. 228 

var. catalinse Arnold. 25 

(Hinnites) giganteus Gray. 17 ,236 

(Chlamys) hastatus Sowerby var. strate- 

gus Dali. 252 

(Patinopecten) healeyi Arnold.... 25,153,2^0 
(Propeamusium) interradiatus Gabb.. 11 ,224 

(Chlamys) latiauritus Conrad. 152 ,244 

var. monotimeris Conrad. 28 

(Amusium) lompocensis Arnold.14,230 

(Lyropecten) magnolia Conrad. 14,223 

martinezensis Gabb. ll 

merriami Arnold. 24,244 

miguelensis Arnold. 147 

(Chlamys) opuntia Dali. 152 ,244 

(Chlamys) parmeleei Dali. 25,244 

(Pseudamusium) peckhami Gabb.. 21,105 ,234 

(Pseudamusium) pedroanus Trask. 21, 

105,147,153 ,244 

(Chlamys) sespeensis Arnold... 12,13 ,234,238 

var. hydei Arnold. 13,17 

stearnsii Daft. 152,153,242,2-4 

(Lyropecten) vaughani Arnold. 14,233 

vogdrsi Arnold. 242 

(Chlamys) wattsii Arnold. 242 

Pelecypoda. 107,147,223, 225,227, 

229,231,233,235,237,239,249,251,253 

Pennsylvania, oil of, composition of. 204 

Periploma discus Stearns. 153 

Petricola carditoides Conrad. 153 

Petroleum. See Oil. 

Phacoides acutilineatus Conrad. 25,107,146 

californicus Conrad,. 107,153 

childreni. 147 

nuttallii Conrad. 107 

richthofeni Gabb. 107,147,233 

sp. 14,17,24 

Pholadidea penita Conrad. 27 

Pico anticline, description of. 90-92 

location of. 36 

oil wells in. 92,95 

view of. 90 

Pico Canyon, oil wells in. 4,94-95 

oil wells in, oil of, character of. 4 

oil of, analyses of. 209, 

211,213,216-217 

overturn in, view of. 90 

rocks in. 17 

views in. 90 

Pico oil field, geology and structure in.90-94 

location of. 90 

subdivisions of. 93-94 

















































































































INDEX. 


263 


Page 

Pico oil field, wells in. 94-96,203 

Pine Mountain, elevation of. 2 

Pioneer well, data on. 100 

Pipe lines, length and distribution of. 135,198 

Pirie ranch, oil wells at. 39-40 

Piru Creek, canyon of, Fernando formation 

at. 23 

canyon of, oil wells in. 4,74-75 

structure in. 32 

See also Hopper-Piru fields. 

character of. 3 

fossils on. 24 

rocks on. 23 

structure east of. 67-68 

Piru Oil and Land Co., wells of.;. 74-75 

Piru River, view of. 2 


Pisania fortis Carpenter var. angulata Ar¬ 
nold. 25 ,252 

Placerita Canyon, oil wells in. 4,100-101,203 

oil wells in, location of, map showing... 100 

oil of, analysis of.214-215 

Placunanomia sp. 13,153 

Plagioctenium cerrosensis Gabb. 242 

circularis Sowerby. 21$ 

Platyodon cancellatus Conrad. 153 

Pleistocene deposits, distribution and de¬ 
scription of. 28-29, 

43,91,98,107,153-155,173,174,186 
Pleurotoma (Dolichotoma) keepi Arnold... 238 

sp. 152 

Pliocene fossils. 241,21$, 245,247,349,251,253 

Pliocene sandstone, view of. 188 

Pole Canyon oil field, geology and structure 

of.62-63 

location of. 62 

Priene oregonensis Redfield var. angelensis 

Arnold. 24,25,107, 252 

Propeamusium interradiatus Gabb. 224 

Proudfit and Parker, oil well of, oil of, analy¬ 
ses of. 210,211,213 

Prutzman, P. W., analyses by.214-215 

on California oils. 142 

Psephis lordi Carpenter. 27 

tantilla Gould. 26 

Pseudamusium peckhami Gabb. 234 

pedroanus Trask. 244 

Puente fault, location and description of. 108-109, 


111-113,116,119 

Puente field, geology of. 117-118 

location of. 117 

oil wells of. 119,133,203 

oil of, analyses of.210,212,213-217 

structure of. 118-119 

tankage in. 134 

Puente formation, character of. 103-105, 

145-146,148-149 

correlation of. 105 

distribution of. 103-105, 

112-113,115,117-118,121,125-131, 
144, 145-146, 148-150, 160, 173, 186 

fossils in. 104,146-148 

oil in. 110,114,119,132-133,149-150,156,187 

subdivisions of. 103 

Puente Hills, altitudes in. 103 

area in. 134 


Page. 

Puente Hills, correlations in. 143 

development of. 132-133 

gas in. 134 

geology of. 103-107,143 

map showing. 102 

location of. 102 

map of. no 

oil Of. 133-137,203-217 

analyses of. 209-217 

gravity of-;. 133,203 

prices of. 136 

production of. 136 

storage and transportation of_134-135 

utilization of. 135-136 

oil-bearing strata of. 109-110 

oil companies of, list of. 137 

oil wells of- 113-115,117,119,123-125,131-134 

location of, map showing. no 

yield of. 133-134 

See also 'particular wells. 

oil fields of, descriptions of. 110-132 

structure of. 108-109 

sections of, plate showing. 108 

topography of. 103 

Puente Oil Co., pipe line of. 135 

wells of. 119,132 

oil of, analyses of. 210,212,213 

Pumping plant, view of. 120 

Purpura edmondi Arnold. 117,226 

R. 

Ramona Canyon, oil well in. 68 

Ramona Oil Co., well of. 68,75 

Raphetto Hills, oil prospects in. 196 

rocks of. 152,196 

Reasoner syncline, description of. 67 

Red beds, distribution of. 8-10,47 

faults in. 38 

fossils in. 11 

gas in. 39 

occurrence of, in Sespe formation. 8-10 

oil wells in. 10,34,39, 48,55,59 

structure of, maps showing.55,57 

Vaqueros shale and, relations of. 11 

Refineries. See Oil refineries. 

Rice, W. P., oil wells of. 96 

Rice Canyon, oil wells in. 4,96 

Rictaxis punctocoelata Carpenter. 27 

Ridge Crest, oil well near. 99 

Road dressing, oil used for. 135-136 

Rocks. See Geologic formation. 

Russell Company, wells of. 54 

S. 

Salt Lake Company, oil wells of. 159 

_ Salt Lake field, brea in. 187 

development of. 159,195 

geology of. 186-193 

location of. 158,186 

oil sands of. 186-193 

section of, figure showing. 189 

oil wells in. 187-193,195 

oil of, analysis of. .210,211,213 

records of. 190-193 

section in, figure showing. 189 















































































































264 


INDEX 


Page. 

Salt Lake field, structure in. 193-195 

view of. 168 

Salt Lake flexure, description of. 193-195 

section through, figure showing. 189 

Salt Lake Oil Co., well of, oil of, analysis of.. 210, 

211,213 

Salt Marsh Canyon, oil wells in. 4,42,45-46 

oil wells in, oil of, analysis of. 209,211,212 

San Cayetano fault, location of. 30-31, 

44,46,47,49,52 

oil wells along. 49 

San Cayetano Mountain, fault center at.. 30-31,44 
oil field near. See Santa Paula Ridge. 

rocks at.*.. 23,48 

See also Santa Paula Canyon. 

San Cayetano wells, data on. 68-69,203 

location of. 4,68 

San Fernando field, well in, oil of, analyses 

of. 209,211,213 

San Gabriel Range, elevation of. 3 

oil wells on. 96,98,99 

rocks in.J. 35,97 

structure of. 35-36 

topography of. 2-3 

San Juan Hill, altitude of. 103 

Sansinena wells, description of. 117 

Santa Ana Oil Co., oil wells of. 98 

, oil wells of, oil of, analyses of. 209,211,213 

Santa Barbara Forest Reserve, location of. 2 

Santa Clara River, course of. 1 

oil fields north of. 36-75 

oil fields south of.76-101 

red beds south of. 10 

structure north of. 30-35 

structure south of. 35-36 

tributaries of. 3 

valley of, oil field of. See Santa Clara 
oil field. 

Vaqueros formation south of. 15-17 

Santa Clara Valley oil field, correlations in. 21-22, 

143 

fault in. 29 

geology of. 4-29,143 

map showing. Pocket 

map of. 36 

oil of. 203-217 

analyses of. 209-217 

gravity of. 203 

oil fields of. 4,36-101 

oil wells of. 39-42,45-46,48,50, 

54-62,68-75,79-80,86-89,94-96,98-101 

location of, map showing. 36 

structure of. 29-36 

sections of, plates showing.28,30 

topography of. 1-4 

Santa Fe Oil Co., wells of. 128,129,130 

wells of, oil of, analyses of. 210,212,213 

Santa Felicia Creek, fossils on. 24 

Santa Monica Mountains, rocks on. 145,146 

Santa Paula Canyon, fault center at.. 38,44,48,50 
fault center at. See also San Cayetano 
Mountain. 

oil wells in, oil of, analyses of. 214-215 

rocks in. 47 

view of. 48 


Page. 

Santa Paula Creek, character of. 3 

fossils from. 26 

rocks on. 49 

Santa Paula Oil Co., oil wells of.• 42 

Santa Paula Ridge, oil field south of, faults 

in. 50 

oil field south of, geology and structure 

of. 49-50 

oil wells of. 50 

rocks of. 48 

Santa Susanna Mountains, oil wells in. 4 

rocks of. 15,20-22,43,92 

view of. 46 

Saugus, rocks near. 28,29 

Saxidomus aratus Gould. 28 

gibbosus Gabb. 153 

gracilis Gould. 27 

Scala crebricostata Carpenter. 28 

tincta Carpenter. 28 

Schist, black, occurrence of. 145 

Schist, crystalline, oil in. 100-101 

Sconsia tuberculatus Gabb. 224 

Scott and Loftus, oil well of. 196 

Scutella fairbanksi Merriam. 13,17, 230,232 

Semele decisa Conrad. 153 

sp. 26 

Sespe Creek, canyon of, faulting in. 52 

canyon of, oil in. 33 

oil wells in. 54-56 

Pleistocene near. 28 

section across, figure showing. 8 

character of. 3 

region of. 2 

structure in. 31 

rocks on and near. 28,30,52 

Sespe formation, character of. 7-12 

conglomerate in. 9 

detail of, section showing. 8 

distribution of. 7-12,51-52,63,78 

faults in. 38 

fossils in... 11 

oil from. 10,12,33,54,55,58,59,61,87 

subdivisions of, descriptions of. 8-12 

Vaqueros shale and, relations of. 11 

Sespe oil field, location of. 51 

oil wells in.54-63 

structure of.51-53 

view in. 2 

Shields Canyon, oil well in. 80 

prospecting in. 4 

Shirley, 1. W., oil well of, oil of, analysis of.. 210, 

211,213 

Sigaretus perrini Arnold. 147, 228 

Siliqua edentula Gabb. 107 

patula Dixon. 27 

Siliquaria edentula Gabb. 26 

Silver Thread fault, location of.47,48 

oil wells along. 48 

Silver Thread oil field, fossils in. 11 

location of. 4,46 

oil wells in. 48 

oil of, analyses of. 209,211,212,214-215 

structure of.46-48 

Simi Valley, rocks in. 77 

Sisar Creek, fossils from. 11 


















































































































INDEX. 


Page 

Sisar Creek, rocks on. 29,47 

Sisar Creek oil field. See Silver Thread oil 
field. 

Smilodon sp. 154 

Sob re Vista Oil Co., oil wells of.41-42 

Solen paralleius Gabb. 11 

rosaceus Carpenter. 26 

sicarius Gould. 24,107 

Soquel Canyon, rocks in. 104,12. r >, 127-128 

South Mountain, elevation of. 3 

rocks in. 15,20,77 

South Mountain-Oak Ridge anticline, de¬ 
scription of.76-78 

oil wells on. 79-80 

Southern Sulphur Mountain field. See 
Sulphur Mountain. 

Spirocrypta pileum Gabb. 11 

Spisula planulata Conrad. 26 

Structure, account of. 29-36,108-109 

sections of, plates showing.. 28,30,108,130,162 
See also particular oil fields. 

Sulphur Canyon, fossils in. 21 

Sulphur Mountain, altitude of. 3,42 

faults at. 38-39,44-45,63 

oil field on, description of.42-46 

geology of. 42^13 

location of. 4,42 

oil wells in. 45-46,203 

structure of. 44 

oil wells on. 40 

oil of, analyses of. 209,211,212 

rocks on. 20,38,42-43,47 

Sulphur Mountain fault, location of. 63 

Sulphur Mountain Petroleum Co., well of.. 209, 

211,212 

Sulphur Peak, rocks at.54,55 

Sunset Oil Co., wells of. 34-35,65,69 

Syncline, oil in. 33,56-57 

T. 

Tankage, amount and distribution of_134,198 

Tapes staleyi Gabb. 153 

staminea Conrad. 27 

tenerrima Carpenter. 25,28 

Tapo anticline, description of.84,91 

location of. 36,82-83 

oil wells in. 89 

Tapo Canyon, oil field in, geology and struc¬ 
ture of. 80-86 

oil field in, location of. 80 

wells of.4,16,89 

rocks in. 16 

Tar Creek, canyon of, oil wells in.4,61-62 

canyon of, oil wells in, oil of, analyses 

of.216-217 

fossils from. 12 

rocks on and near. 13,18 

Telegraph Canyon, rocks in. 131 

Tellina hoffmaniana Gabb. 11 

longa Gabb. 11 

parilis Gabb. 11 

idseDall. 25,26,153 

Temple road. See Western avenue and 
Temple road. 


265 


Page. 

Terebra simplex Carpenter. 28 

Terebratalia occidentals Dali. 153,250 

smithi Arnold. 250 

Teredo sp. 224 

Tertiary fossils. 255 

Texas, oil of, composition of. 204 

Thompson Ridge, faults in. 37-38 

rocks in. 37-38 

Thompson Ridge fault, location of. 37 

Thracia semiplanata Whiteaves. 11 

sp. 146 

Timber Canyon, oil well in, oil of, analysis 

of. 209,211,212 

Topatopa anticline, description of. 30 

oil wells on. 33,34,54 

rocks of. 33 

view of. 2 

Topatopa formation, age of. 7 

character of. 5-6 

distribution of. 7,46-47,49,51 

oil of. 7,33 

oil wells in.. 54,55 

Topatopa Range, altitude of. 3 

structure of. 30 

Topography, description of. 1-4 

Tomatina culcitella Gould. 28 

harpa Dali. 28 

Torrey anticline, description of. 81-83 

location of. 36 

Torrey Canyon, fossils from. 17 

oil field in, geology and structure of_80-86 

location of. 80 

wells in.86-87 

oil of, analyses of. 209,211,213-215 

rocks in. 16,81-83 

Towsley Canyon, oil wells in. ;... 4,95 

Tresus nuttalli Conrad. 26,27 

Triton gibbosus Broderip. 26 

Tritonium sp. 14,25,252 

Trochita costellata Conrad. 107,148, 236 

filosa Gabb. 25,252 

inomata Gabb. 148 

sp. 17 

Trophon multicostata Conrad. 107 

sp. 13,14,147,148 

Turbo topangensis Arnold. 148,228 

Turbonilla laminata Carpenter. 28 

sp. 11,26,28 

Turritella. 254 

cooperi Carpenter, var. feniandoensis 

Arnold. 25,27,28,107, 254 

hofimanni Gabb. 254 

ineziana Conrad. 14,17 ,254 

var. sespeensis Arnold. 12,13 

jewetti Carpenter. 26 ,254 

ocoyana Conrad. 148, 254 

pachecoensis Stanton. 254 

uvasana Conrad. 11,25^ 

variata Conrad. 147,148, 254 

sp. 24 

U. 

Union Consolidated Oil Co., wells of. 33,54 


Union Oil Co., tanks and pipe lines of. 134-135,198 












































































































266 


INDEX 


Page. 

Union Oil Co., wells of.39,79,116,117,123,124 


wells of, oil of, analyses of. 209,212 

rocks near.*. 116 

Upper Ojai Valley, oil wells in. 40,42 

oil wells in, location of, map showing... 41 

rocks in. 29 

view of. 46 

V. 


Vaqueros formation, age of. 12 

bitumen in. 94 

character of. 12-13 

distribution of. 13-17, 

37,62-63,64,66,78,81-86,91-93,97 

fossils in.- 12-13,14,17 

Modelo formation and, relations of.. 13,19-20 

oil in. 34,61,68,88,89,93,95,98 

overturn of, view of. 90 

Sespe red beds and, relations of. 11 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck. 11 ,222 

ventricosa Gould. 153 

Ventura, fossils from near. 27 

Venus pertenuis Gabb. 147 

temblorensis Anderson... 


W. 

Watts, W. L., analyses of. 216-217 

fossils collected by. 24,26,152 

reports of, on California oils. 139,141,158 

reports of, on Los Angeles district_ 158-159 

West Lake Oil Co., well of, oil of, analysis 

of. 210,211,213 

West Virginia, oil of, composition of. 204 

Westlake-Rommell Oil Co., well of, oil of, 

analysis of. 209,211,212 

Western avenue and Temple road, Los An¬ 
geles, area one-fourth mile from, 

wells of, geology of. 181 

vicinity of, oil wells in, geology of_178-180 

records of. 179-180 

Western field, development of.• 159 


Page. 

Western field, geology of. 173-184 

location of. 172 

oil wells of. 174-184 

oil of, analyses of.210,211,213 

records of. 177-180,184 

section in, figure showing. 178,181 

structure in. 184-186 

subdivisions of. 174-175 

topography of. 172 

Wheeler Canyon, oil wells in. 4,42,45-46,49 

oil wells in, oil of, analyses of. 209,211,212 

Whidden-Double Oil Co., oil wells of.40-41 

oil wells of, oil of, analysis of. 209,211,212 

Whitney, J. D., explorations by. 138,140 

on brea deposits. 140-141 

Whittier field, gas well in. 109 

geology of. 104-105,110-112 

location of. 110 

oil wells in. 111-115,133 

oil of, analysis of.210,215 

view of. 112 

pumping plant in, view of. 120 

structure of. 112-115 

tankage in. 134 

Whittier-Fillmore Oil Co., well of, oil of, 

analysis of. 210,211,213 

Wiley Canyon, fossils from. 17 

oil wells in. 4,96 

oil of, analyses of. 210,211,213 

prospecting in. 4 

rocks in. 15-16,78,92 

Y. 

Yoldia arata Whiteaves. 11 

cooperi Gabb. 28 

nasuta Gabb. 11 

scissurata Dali. 24 

sp. 27,147 

Z. 


Zenith Co., oil wells of 


98 





































































CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL 

SURVEY. 

[Bulletin No. 309.] 

The publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual 
Reports, (2) Monographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral 
Resources, (6) Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of United 
States—folios and separate sheets thereof, (8) Geologic Atlas of United States—folios 
thereof. The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are sold at cost of publication; the others 
are distributed free. A circular giving complete lists can be had on application. 

Most of the above publications can be obtained or consulted in the following ways: 

1. A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom 
they can be obtained, free of charge (except classes 2, 7, and 8), on application. 

2. A certain number are delivered to Senators and Representatives in Congress 
for distribution. 

3. Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 
D. C., from whom they can be had at prices slightly above cost. 

4. Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public 
libraries in the large cities throughout the United States, where they can be con¬ 
sulted by those interested. 

The Professional Papers, Bulletins, and Water-Supply Papers treat of a variety 
of subjects, and the total number issued is large. They have therefore been classified 
into the following series: A, Economic geology; B, Descriptive geology; C, System¬ 
atic geology and paleontology; D, Petrography and mineralogy; E, Chemistry and 
physics; F, Geography; G, Miscellaneous; H, Forestry; I, Irrigation; J, Water stor¬ 
age; K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water; M, General hydrographic investiga¬ 
tions; N, Water power; O, Underground waters; P, Hydrographic progress reports. 
This paper is the ninety-first in Series A and the hundred and twelfth in Series B, 
the complete lists of which follow (PP=Professional Paper; B=Bulletin; WS= 
Water-Supply Paper): 

SERIES A, ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 

B 21. Lignites of Great Sioux Reservation: Report on region between Grand and Moreau rivers, 
Dakota, by Bailey Willis. 1885. 16 pp., 5 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 46. Nature and origin of deposits of phosphate of lime, by R. A. F. Penrose, jr., with introduction 
by N. S. Shaler. 1888. 143 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 65. Stratigraphy of the bituminous coal field of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, by I. C. 
White. 1891. 212 pp., 11 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 111. Geology of Big Stone Gap coal field of Virginia and Kentucky, by M. R. Campbell. 1893. 
106 pp., 6 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 132 . The disseminated lead ores of southeastern Missouri, by Arthur Winslow. 1896. 31 pp. (Out 

of stock.) 

B 138. Artesian-well prospects in Atlantic Coastal Plain region, by N. H. Darton. 1896. 228 pp., 19 

pis. 

B 139. Geology of Castle Mountain mining district, Montana, by W. H. Weed and L. V. Pirsson. 1896. 
164 pp., 17 pis. 

B 143. Bibliography of clays and the ceramic arts, by J. C. Branner. 1896. 114 pp. 

B 164. Reconnaissance on the Rio Grande coal fields of Texas, by T. W. Vaughan, including a report 
on igneous rocks from the San Carlos coal field, by E. C. E. Lord. 1900. 100 pp., 11 pis. 
(Out of stock.) 


I 


II 


SERIES LIST. 


B 178. El Paso tin deposits, by W. H. Weed. 1901. 15 pp., 1 pi. 

B 180. Occurrence and distribution of corundum in United States, by J. H. Pratt. 1901. 98 pp., 11 pis. 
(Out of stock; see No. 209.) 

B 182. A report on the economic geology of the Silverton quadrangle, Colorado, by F. L. Ransome. 

1901. 266 pp., 16 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 184. Oil and gas fields of the western interior and northern Texas Coal Measures and of the 
Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary of the western Gulf coast, by G. I. Adams. 1901. 64 pp., 10 
pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 193. The geological relations and distribution of platinum and associated metals, by J. F. Kemp. 

1902. 95 pp., 6 pis. 

B 198. The Berea grit oil sand in the Cadiz quadrangle, Ohio, by W. T. Griswold. 1902. 43 pp., 1 pi. 
(Out of stock.) 

PP 1. Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introductory sketch of 
the geology of southeastern Alaska, by A. H. Brooks. 1902. 120 pp., 2 pis. 

B 200. Reconnaissance of the borax deposits of Death Valley and Mohave Desert, by M. R. Campbell. 
1902. 23 pp., 1 pi. (Out of stock.) 

B 202. Tests for gold and silver in shales from western Kansas, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1902, 21 pp. 
(Out of stock.) 

PP 2. Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 

1902. 70 pp., 11 pis. 

PP 10. Reconnaissance from Fort Hamlin to Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, by way of Dali, Kanuti, Allen, 
and Kowak rivers, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1902. 68 pp., 10 pis. 

PP 11. Clays of the United States east of the Mississippi River, by Heinrich Ries. 1903. 298 pp., 9 pis. 
(Out of stock.) 

PP 12. Geology of the Globe copper district, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1903. 168 pp., 27 pis. 

B 212. Oil fields of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain, by C. W. Hayes and William Kennedy. 

1903. 174 pp., 11 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 213. Contributions to economic geology, 1902; S. F. Emmons and C. W. Hayes, geologists in charge. 
1903. 449 pp. (Out of stock.) 

PP 15. The mineral resources of the Mount Wrangell district, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall and 
F. C. Schrader. 1903. 71 pp.,10 pis. 

B 218. Coal resources of the Yukon, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 1903. 71 pp., 6 pis. 

B 219. The ore deposits of Tonopah, Nevada (preliminary report), by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 31 pp., 1 pi. 
(Out of stock.) 

PP 20. A reconnaissance in northern Alaska in 1901, by F. C. Schrader. 1904. 139 pp., 16 pis. 

PP 21. Geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1904. 168 
pp., 29 pis. 

B 223. Gypsum deposits in the United States, by G. I. Adams and others. 1904. 129 pp., 21 pis. (Out 
of stock.) 

PP 24. Zinc and lead deposits of northern Arkansas, by G. I. Adams. 1904. 118 pp., 27 pis. 

PP 25. Copper deposits of the Encampment district, Wyoming, by A. C. Spencer. 1904. 107 pp., 2 pis. 
(Out of stock.) 

B 225. Contributions to economic geology, 1903, by S. F. Emmons and C. W. Hayes, geologists in 
charge. 1904. 527 pp., 1 pi. (Out of stock.) 

PP 26. Economic resources of the northern Black Hills, by J. D. Irving, with contributions by S. F. 

Emmons and T. A. Jaggar, jr. 1904. 222 pp., 20 pis. 

PP 27. A geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and Clearwater Mountains in Mon¬ 
tana and Idaho, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1904. 123 pp., 15 pis. 

B 229. Tin deposits of the York region, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 1904. 61 pp., 7 pis. 

B 236. The Porcupine placer district, Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1904. 35 pp., 10 pis. 

B 238. Economic geology of the Iola quadrangle, Kansas, by G. I. Adams, Erasmus Haworth, and 
W. R. Crane. 1904. 83 pp., 11 pis. 

B 243. Cement materials and industry of the United States, by E. C. Eckel. 1905. 395 pp., 15 pis. 

B 246. Zinc and lead deposits of northwestern Illinois, by H. Foster Bain. 1904. 56 pp., 5 pis. 

B 247. The Fairhaven gold placers of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by F. H. Moffit, 1905. 85 pp., 14 pis. 
B 249. Limestones of southeastern Pennsylvania, by F. G. Clapp. 1905. 62 pp., 7 pis. 

B 250. The petroleum fields of the Pacific coast of Alaska, with an account of the Bering River coal 
deposits, by G. C. Martin. 1905. 65 pp., 7 pis. 

B 251. The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska, by L. M. 
Prindle. 1905. 89 pp.,16 pis. 

WS 117. The lignite of North Dakota and its relation to irrigation, by F. A. Wilder. 1905. 59 pp., 8 pis. 
PP 36. The lead, zinc, and fluorspar deposits of western Kentucky, by E. O. Ulrich and W. S. T. Smith. 
1905. 218 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 38. Economic geology of the Bingham mining district, Utah, by J. M. Boutwell, with a chapter 
on areal geology, by Arthur Keith, and an introduction on general geology, by S. F. Emmons. 
1905. 413 pp., 49 pis. 

PP 41. Geology of the central Copper River region, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 133 pp., 20 pis. 


SERIES LIST. 


Ill 


B 254. Report of progress in the geological resurvey of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by Waide- 
mar Lindgren and F. L. Ransome. 1904. 36 pp. 

B 255. The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois, by H. Foster Bain. 1905. 75 pp., 6 pis. (Out of 
stock.) 

B 256. Mineral resources of the Elders Ridge quadrangle, Pennsylvania, by R, W. Stone. 1905. 
86 pp., 12 pis. 

B 259. Report on progress of investigations of mineral resources of Alaska in 1904, by A. H. Brooks 
and others. 1905. 196 pp., 3 pis. 

B 260. Contributions to economic geology, 1904; S. F. Emmons and C. W. Hayes, geologists in charge. 

1905. 620 pp., 4 pis. 

B 261. Preliminary report on the operations of the coal-testing plant of the United States Geological 
Surveyatthe Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Mo., 1904; E. W. Parker, J. A. Holmes, 
and M. R. Campbell, committee in charge. 1905. 172 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 263. Methods and cost of gravel and placer mining in Alaska, by C. W. Purington. 1905. 273 pp., 
42 pis. (Out of stock.) 

PP 42. Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1905. 295 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 43. The copper deposits of the Clifton-Morenci district, Arizona, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1905. 
375 pp., 25 pis. 

B 264. Record of deep-well drilling for 1904, by M. L. Fuller, E. F. Lines, and A. C. Veatch. 1905. 

106 pp. 

B 265. Geology of the Boulder district, Colorado, by N. M. Fenneman. 1905. 101 pp., 5 pis. 

B 267. The copper deposits of Missouri, by H. Foster Bain and E. O. Ulrich. 1905. 52 pp., 1 pi. 

B 269. Corundum and its occurrence and distribution in the United States (a revised and enlarged 
edition of Bulletin No. 180), by J. H. Pratt. 1906. 175 pp., 18 pis. 

PP 48. Report on the operations of the coal-testing plant of the United States Geological Survey at 
the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Mo., 1904; E. W. Parker, J. A. Holmes, M. R. 
Campbell, committee in charge. 1906. (In three parts.) 1,492 pp., 13 pis. 

B 275. Slate deposits and slate industry of the United States, by T. N. Dale, with sections by E. C. 

Eckel, W. F. Hillebrand, and A. T. Coons. 1906. 154 pp., 25 pis. 

PP 49. Geology and mineral resources of part of the Cumberland Gap coal field, Kentucky, by G. H. 

Ashley and L. C. Glenn, in cooperation with the State Geological Department of Kentucky, 
C. J. Norwood, curator. 1906. 239 pp., 40 pis. 

B 277. Mineral resources of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: Gold fields of the Turnagain Arm region, by 

F. H. Moffit; Coal fields of the Kachemak Bay region, by R. W. Stone. 1906. 80 pp., 18 pis. 

(Out of stock.) 

B 278. Geology and coal resources of the Cape Lisburne region, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 1906. 54 pp., 
9 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 279. Mineral resources of the Kittanning and Rural Valley quadrangles, Pennsylvania, by Charles 
Butts. 1906. 19S pp., 11 pis. 

B 280. The Rampart gold placer region, Alaska, by L. M. Prindle and F. L. Hess. 1906. 54 pp., 7 pis. 
(Out of stock.) 

B 282. Oil fields of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain, by N. M. Fenneman. 1906. 146 pp., 11 pis. 
PP 51. Geology of the Bighorn Mountains, by N. H. Darton. 1906. 129 pp., 47 pis. 

B 283. Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider. 1906. 99 pp., 4 pis. 

B 284. Report on progress of investigations of the mineral resources of Alaska in 1905, by A. H. Brooks 
and others. 1906. 169 pp., 14 pis. 

B 285. Contributions to economic geology, 1905; S. F. Emmons and E. C. Eckel, geologists in charge. 

1906. 506 pp., 13 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 286. Economic geology of the Beaver quadrangle, Pennsylvania, by L. H. Woolsey. 1906. 132 pp., 
8 pis. 

B 287. Juneau gold belt, Alaska, by A. C. Spencer, and A reconnaissance of Admiralty Island, Alaska, 
by C. W. Wright. 1906. 161 pp., 27 pis. 

PP 54. The geology and gold deposits of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by W. Lindgren and 
F. L. Ransome. 1906. 516 pp., 29 pis. 

PP 55. Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1906. 174 pp., 24 pis. 

B 289. A reconnaissance of the Matanuska coal field, Alaska, in 1905, by G. C. Martin. 1906. 34 pp., 
5 pis. 

B 290. Preliminary report on the operations of the fuel-testing plant of the United States Geological 
Survey at St. Louis, Mo., 1905, by J. A. Holmes. 1906. 240 pp. 

B 293. A reconnaissance of some gold and tin deposits of the southern Appalachians, by L. C. Graton, 
with notes on the Dahlonega mines, by W. Lindgren. 1906. 134 pp., 9 pis. 

B 294. Zinc and lead deposits of the upper Mississippi Valley, by H. Foster Bain. 1906. 155 pp., 16 pis. 
B 295. The Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska, description of Circle quadrangle, by L. M. Prindle. 1906. 
27 pp., 1 pi. 

B 296. Economic geology of the Independence quadrangle, Kansas, by Frank C. Schrader and 
Erasmus Haworth. 1906. 74 pp., 6 pis. 


IV 


SERIES LIST. 


B 297. The Yampa coal field, Routt County, Colo., by N. M. Fenneman, Hoyt S. Gale, and M. R. 
Campbell. 1906. 96 pp., 9 pis. 

B 298. Record of deep-well drilling for 1905, by Myron L. Fuller and Samuel Sanford. 1906. 299 pp. 
B 300. Economic geology of the Amity quadrangle in eastern Washington County, Pa., by Frederick 
G. Clapp. 1907. 145 pp.,8 pis. 

B 303. Preliminary account of Goldfield, Bullfrog, and other mining districts in southern Nevada, by 

F. L. Ransome, with notes on the Manhattan district, by G. H. Garrey and W. H. Emmons. 
1907. 98 pp., 5 pis. 

B 304. Oil and gas fields of Greene County, Pa., by Ralph W. Stone and Frederick G. Clapp. 1907. 
110 pp., 3 pis. 

PP 56. Geography and geology of a portion of southwestern Wyoming, with special reference to 
coal and oil, by A. C. Veatch. 1907. — pp., 26 pis. 

B 308. A geologic reconnaissance in southwestern Nevada and eastern California, by S. H. Ball. 1907. 
218 pp., 3 pis. 

B 309. The Santa Clara Valley, Puenta Hills, and Los Angeles oil districts, southern California, by 

G. H. Eldridge and Ralph Arnold. 1907. 266 pp., 41 pis. 

SERIES B, DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY. 

B 23. Observations on the junction between the Eastern sandstone and the Keweenaw series on 
Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, by R. D. Irving and T. C. Chamberlin. 1885. 124 pp., 17 
pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 33. Notes on geology of northern California, by J. S. Diller. 1886. 23 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 39. The upper beaches and deltas of Glacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham. 1887. 84 pp., 1 pi. 
(Out of stock.) 

B 40. Changes in river courses in Washington Territory due to glaciation, by Bailey Willis. 1887. 
10 pp., 4 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 45. The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas, by R. T. Hill. 1887. 94 pp. (Out 
of stock.) 

B 53. The geology of Nantucket, by N. S. Shaler. 1889. 55 pp., 10 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 57. A geological reconnaissance in southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1890. 49 pp., 2 pis. 

B 58. The glacial boundary in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by G. F. 

Wright, with introduction by T. C. Chamberlin. 1890. 112 pp.,8 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 67. The relations of the traps of the Newark system in the New Jersey region, by N. H. Darton. 
1890. 82 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 104. Glaciation of the Yellowstone Valley north of the Park, by W. H. Weed. 1893. 41 pp., 4 pis. 

B 108. A geological reconnaissance in central Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1893. 108 pp., 12 pis. 
(Out of stock.) 

B 119. A geological reconnaissance in northwest W r yoming, by G. H. Eldridge. 1894. 72 pp., 4 pis. 

B 137. The geology of the Fort Riley Military Reservation and vicinity, Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1896. 
35 pp., 8 pis. 

B 144. The moraines of the Missouri Coteau and their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd. 1896. 71 
pp., 21 pis. 

B 158. The moraines of southeastern South Dakota and their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd. 1899. 
171 pp., 27 pis. 

B 159. The geology of eastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, by B. K. Emerson. 1899. 139 pp., 
9 pis. 

B 165. Contributions to the geology of Maine, by H. S. Williams and H. E. Gregory. 1900. 212 pp., 
14 pis. 

WS 70. Geology and water resources of the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles in eastern Wyoming 
and western Nebraska, by G. I. Adams. 1902.' 50 pp., 11 pis. 

B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Russell. 1902. 192 
pp., 25 pis. 

PP 1. Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introductory sketch of 
the geology of southeastern Alaska, by A. H. Brooks. 1902. 120 pp., 2 pis. 

PP 2. Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 
1902. 70 pp.,11 pis. 

PP 3. Geology and petrography of Crater Lake National Park, by J. S. Diller and H. B. Patton. 1902. 
167 pp., 19 pis. 

PP 10. Reconnaissance from Fort Hamlin to Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, byway of Dali, Kanuti, Allen, 
and Kowak rivers, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1902. 68 pp., 10 pis. 

PP 11. Clays of the United States east of the Mississippi River, by Heinrich Ries. 1903. 298 pp., 9 pis. 
(Out of stock.) 

PP 12. Geology of the Globe copper district, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1903. 168 pp., 27 pis. 

PP 13. Drainage modifications in southeastern Ohio and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Ken¬ 
tucky, by W. G. Tight 1903. Ill pp., 17 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 208. Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the fortieth parallel and adjacent portions of Cali¬ 
fornia, by J. E. Spun. 1903. 229 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 


SERIES LIST. 


V 


B 209. Geology of Ascutney Mountain, Vermont, by R. A. Daly. 1903. 122 pp., 7 pis. 

\\ S 78. Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon by 
I. C. Russell. 1903. 51 pp., 2 pis. 

PPlo. Mineral resources of the Mount Wrangell district, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall and F. C. 
Schrader. 1903. 71 pp. 10 pis. 

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred 
and third meridian, by N. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis. 

B 21/. Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 1903. 
83 pp., 18 pis. 

B 219. The ore deposits of Tonopah, Nevada (preliminary report), by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 31 pp., 1 pi. 
PP 20. A reconnaissance in northern Alaska in 1901, by F. C. Schrader. 1904. 139 pp., 16 pis. 

PP 21. The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1904. 
168 pp., 29 pis. 

WS 90. Geology and water resources of part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by J. E. 
Todd and C. M. Hall. 1904. 47 pp., 23 pis. 

PP 25. The copper deposits of the Encampment district, Wyoming, by A. C. Spencer. 1904. 107 pp., 
2 pis. (Out of stock.) 

PP 26. Economic resources of the northern Black Hills, by J. D. Irving, with contributions by S. F. 

Emmons and T. A. Jaggar, jr. 1904. 222 pp., 20 pis. 

PP 27. A geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and Clearwater Mountains in Mon¬ 
tana and Idaho, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1904. 122 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 31. Preliminary report on the geology of the Arbuckle and Wichita mountains in'lndian Ter¬ 
ritory and Oklahoma, by J. A. Taff, with an appendix on reported ore deposits in the Wichita 
Mountains, by H. F. Bain. 1904. 97 pp., 8 pis. 

B 235. A geological reconnaissance across the Cascade Range near the forty-ninth parallel, by G. O. 

Smith and F. C. Calkins. 1904. 103 pp., 4 pis. 

B 236. The Porcupine placer district, Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1904. 35 pp., 10 pis. 

B 237. Igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana, by L. V. Pirsson. 1904. 208 pp., 7 pis. 

B 238. Economic geology of the Iola quadrangle, Kansas, by G. I. Adams, Erasmus Haworth, and 
W. R. Crane. 1904. 83 pp., 1 pi. 

PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 1905. 
433 pp., 72 pis. 

WS 110. Contributions to hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 
1905. 211 pp., 5 pis. 

B 242. Geology of the Hudson Valley between the Hoosic and the Kinderhook, by T. Nelson Dale. 

1904. 63 pp., 3 pis. 

PP 34. The Delavan lobe of the Lake Michigan glacier of the Wisconsin stage of glaciation and 
associated phenomena, by W. C. Alden. 1904. 106 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 35. Geology of the Perry Basin in southeastern Maine, by G. O. Smith and David White. 1905. 
107 pp., 6 pis. 

B 243. Cement materials and industry of the United States, by E. C. Eckel. 1905. 395 pp., 15 pis. 

B 246. Zinc and lead deposits of northeastern Illinois, by H. F. Bain. 1904. 56 pp., 5 pis. 

B 247. The Fairhaven gold placers of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by F. H. Moffit. 1905. 85 pp., 14 pis. 
B 249. Limestones of southwestern Pennsylvania, by F. G. Clapp. 1905. 52 pp., 7 pis. 

B 250. The petroleum fields of the Pacific coast of Alaska, with an account of the Bering River coal 
deposit, by G. C. Martin. 1905. 65 pp., 7 pis. 

B 251. The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska, by L. M. 
Prindle. 1905. 16 pp.,16 pis. 

WS 118. Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington, by F. C. Calkins. 1905. 
96 pp., 4 pis. 

B 252. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 

1905. 138 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 36. The lead, zinc, and fluorspar deposits of western Kentucky, by E. O. Ulrich and W. S. Tangier 
Smith. 1905. 218 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 38. Economic geology of the Bingham mining district of Utah, by J. M. Boutwell, with a chapter 
on areal geology, by Arthur Keith, and an introduction on general geology, by S. F. Emmons. 
1905. 413 pp., 49 pis. 

PP 41. The geology of the central Copper River region, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 133 pp., 
20 pis. 

B 254. Report of progress in the geological resurvey of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by 
Waldemar Lindgren and F. L. Ransome. 1904. 36 pp. 

B255. The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois, by H. Foster Bain. 1905. 75 pp., 6 pis. (Out of 
stock.) 

B 256. Mineral resources of the Elders Ridge quadrangle, Pennsylvania, by R. W. Stone. 1905. 
85 pp.,12 pis. 

B257. Geology and paleontology of the Judith Riverbeds, byT. W. Stanton and J. B. Hatcher, with 
a chapter on the fossil plants, by F. H. Knowlton. 1905. 174 pp., 19 pis. 


VI 


SERIES LIST. 


PP 42. Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1905. 295 pp., 24 pis. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by 
C. It. Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 136. Underground waters of Salt River Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 43. The copper deposits of Clifton-Morenci, Arizona, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1905. 375 pp., 25pls. 
B 265. Geology of the Boulder district, Colorado, by N. M. Fenneman. 1905. 101 pp., 5 pis. 

B 267. The copper deposits of Missouri, by H. F. Bain and E. O. Ulrich. 1905. 52 pp., 1 pi. 

PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch and others. 1905. 
394 pp., 34 pis. 

WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 

B 270. The configuration of the rock floor of Greater New York, by W. H. Hobbs. 1905. 96 pp., 5 pis. 
B 272. Taconic physiography, by T. M. Dale. 1905. 52 pp., 14 pis. 

PP 45. The geography and geology of Alaska, a summary of existing knowledge, by A. H. Brooks, 
with a section on climate, by Cleveland Abbe, jr., and a topographic map and description 
thereof, by R. M. Goode. 1905. 327 pp., 34 pis. 

B 273. The drumlins of southeastern Wisconsin (preliminary paper), by W. C.Alden. 1905. 46 pp., 
9 pis. 

PP 46. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by 
A. C. Veatch. 1906. 422 pp., 51 pis. 

PP 49. Geology and mineral resources of part of the Cumberland Gap coal field, Kentucky, by G. H. 

Ashley and L. C. Glenn, in cooperation with the State Geological Department of Kentucky, 
C. J. Norwood, curator. 1906. 239 pp., 40 pis. 

PP 50. The Montana lobe of the Keewatin ice sheet, by F. H. H. Calhoun. 1906. 62 pp., 7 pis. 

B 277. Mineral resources of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: Gold fields of the Turnagain Arm region, by 
F. H. Moffit; and the coal fields of the Kachemak Bay region, by R. W. Stone. 1906. 80 pp., 
18 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 154. The geology and water resources of the eastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N. 
Gould. 1906. 64 pp.,15 pis. 

B 278. Geology and coal resources of the Cape Lisburne region, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 1906. 54 
pp.,9pls. (Out of stock.) 

B279. Mineral resources of the Kittanning and Rural Valley quadrangles, Pennsylvania, by Charles 
Butts. 1906. 198 pp., 11 pis. 

B 280. The Rampart gold placer region, Alaska, by L. M. Prindle and F. L. Hess. 1906. 54 pp., 7 pis. 
(Out of stock.) 

B 282. Oil fields of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf coastal plain, by N. M. Fenneman. 1906. 146 pp., 11 pis. 
WS 157. Underground water in the valleysof Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson. 
1906. 81 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 51. Geology of the Bighorn Mountains, by N. H. Darton. 1906. 129 pp., 47 pis. 

WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area, 
New Mexico, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 29 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 52. Geology and underground waters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. II. Darton. 
1906. 90 pp.,28 pis. 

WS 159. Summary of underground-water resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider and L. C. Johnson. 
1906. 86 pp.,6 pis. 

PP53. Geology and water resources of the'Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by Cassius A. Fisher. 1906. 
72 pp., 16 pis. 

B 283. Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider. 1906. 99 pp., 4 pis. 

B 286. Economic geology of the Beaver quadrangle, Pennsylvania (southern Beaver and northwest¬ 
ern Allegheny counties), by L. H. Woolsey. 1906. 132 pp., 8 pis. 

B 287. The Juneau gold belt, Alaska, by A. C. Spencer, and a reconnaissance of Admiralty Island, 
Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1906. 161 pp., 37 pis. 

PP 54. The geology and gold deposits of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by W. Lindgren and 
F. L. Ransome. 1906. 516 pp., 29 pis. 

PP 55. Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1906. 174 pp., 24 pis. 

B 289. A reconnaissance of the Matanuska coal field, Alaska, in 1905, by G. C. Martin. 1906. 36 pp., 
5 pis. 

WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent 
area in Illinois, by L. C. Glenn. 1906. 173 pp., 7 pis. 

B 293. A reconnaissance of some gold and tin deposits of the southern Appalachians, by L. C. Groton, 
with notes on the Dahlonega mines, by W. Lindgren. 1906. 134 pp., 9 pis. 

B 294. Zinc and lead deposits of the upper Mississippi Valley, by H. Foster Bain. 1906. 155 pp., 
16 pis. 

B 295. The Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska, description of Circle quadrangle, by L. M. Prindle. 1906. 
27 pp., 1 pi. 

B 296. Economic geology of the Independence quadrangle, Kansas, by Frank C. Schrader and 
Erasmus Haworth. 1906. 74 pp., 6 pis. 


SERIES LIST 


YII 


WS 181. Geology and water resources of Owens Valley, California, by Willis T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp. 
6 pis. 

B 297. The Yarnpa coal field, Routt County, Colo., by N. M. Fenneman, Hoyt S. Gale, and M. R. 
Campbell. 1906. 96 pp., 9 pis. 

B 300. Economic geology of the Amity quadrangle in eastern Washington County, Pa., by F. G. 
Clapp. 1906. 145 pp., 8 pis. 

B 303. Preliminary account of Goldfield, Bullfrog, and other mining districts in southern Nevada, by 

F. L. Ransome; with notes on Manhattan district, by G. H. Garrey and W. H. Emmons. 
1907. 98 pp.,5 pis. 

B 304. Oil and gas fields of Greene County, Pa., by R. W. Stone and F. G. Clapp. 1907. 110 pp., 3 pis. 
WS 188. Water resources of the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico and their development, by W. T. 
Lee. 1906. 59 pp., 10 pis. 

B 306. Rate of recession of Niagara Falls, accompanied by a report on the survey of the crest, by 
W. Carvel Hall. 1906. 31 pp., 11 pis. 

PP 56. Geography and Geology of a portion of southwestern Wyoming, with special reference to coal 
and oil, by A. C. Veatch. — pp., 26 pis. 

B 308. A geologic reconnaissance in southwestern Nevada and eastern California, by S. H. Ball. 1907. 
218 pp., 3 pis. 

B 309. The Santa Clara Valley, Puente Hills, and Los Angeles oil districts, southern California, by 

G. H. Eldridge and Ralph Arnold. 266 pp., 41 pis. 

Correspondence should be addressed to 

The Director, 

United States Geological Survey, 

April, 1907. Washington, D. C. 


o 































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U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
CHARLES O. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 


BULLETIN NO.309 


PL. I 


LEGEN D 



R. 19 W. 


119 00' 


R 20 W 




Ib;m, 


pm 




K§§»Mg 

lilfll 




:/ >'v 

|g|f 

HayF -' 


P I ur n 






onbv 






. . . C amulos *. 


K JSOo 


f/7&OsA\\^r 


111 


ii 


swliaTl 


—.—.--— 




A- V. 


Pnulu 


mtmm 


R. 21 W. 


R.I7W 


R. 16 W. 


II9°I5' R.23W. 


R. 15 W. 


A HOEN & Ca, BALTIMORE, MD 


Geology by George H. Eldridge, 1902 


R. U Goode, Geographer in charge. 

Triangulation by Coast and Geodetic Survey and S. S. Gannett. 

Topography by T. G. Gerdine, L. C. Fletcher, R. B. Marshall, W. S. Post, and J. G. Hefty 

893-1902. 


For sections see- Plates ffluiui [V 


SANTA CLARA VALLFA 


AND ADJACENT OIL FIELDS, VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES 


Surveyed in 1 


62500 


C 011 tenxi- interval50 feet 
Datum is mea/t le vel . 




o 

N / 
o \ 

05 

Id 

5 


Qal 


Alluvium 

Alluvium and stream wash 


Qp 


Pleistocene formations 
Head of Santa Clara Valley: 
Gravel, sand,aiul clay,prohaTly 
of freshwater origin 
Mouth of Sespe Canyon: 
Bright-red gravel (questionable* age 


UNCONFORM ITY 


1 C 



Fernando formation. 
Conglomeiate, sandstone, and 
arenaceous clay 

UNCONFORMITY 



Shale 

Siliceous shale, with occasional 
in terbedded sandstone 


O' 


Tss 


Sandstone "No. 2 
Tight-yeRow siliceous 
sandstone, lower 100 feet 
with iuterbedded shale 



Sandstone -N o.l 
Massive, heavy-Tedded 
concretionary sandstone 



Vaqueros formation 
Rusty and gray shale with 
interbedded limestone and sandstone 


Tu 


Upper 

Rusty calcareous sandstone 



u< 


Middle 

Brownish-red sandstone and 
conglomerate,with minor 
layers of sandy and muddy shale 



Tower 


White sandstone and greenish 
o 


shale 

||||||jp 

Tt 


Topatopa formation 
Quartzite, sandstone, and 
hard,more or less siliceous 
and earthy'shale 



Granite and. gneiss 

Fault lines 
Contact lines 
Structure lines 
Strike and dip 

At 

Sync line 

*h. 

Anticline 

S 

Complex Cold 


Well s 


> 




/ 


SESPE FORMATION MODELO FORMATION 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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